Dame Deborah James’ family ‘finding so much to smile about in the sadness’ after Prince William visit

Dame has described the past five days as ‘the most surreal and humbling’ of her life, after receiving a visit from to be .

The podcast host also shared that she is feeling ‘weaker and more tired’, but she and her family are ‘finding so much to smile about in the sadness’ as she continues to inspire people across the nation.

Since setting up her earlier this week in aid of Cancer Research UK, Deborah, 40, has , as the total continues to rise further past her initial target of £250,000.

The fundraising page was originally set up after the podcast host informed her followers that she had and that her cancer treatment had stopped, after being diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2016.

On Friday, she revealed that she had received at her family house, saying in a new post that she was thankful to him for ‘going above and beyond to make a very special memory happen’.

‘I believe I may have had the most surreal, mind blowing, humbling 5 days of my life,’ she said in the caption.

‘I cannot thank you for your generosity at launching the @bowelbabefund which now stands at £5.7 million, and to the @dukeandduchessofcambridge for going above and beyond to make a very special memory happen yesterday. Can’t quite believe im actually a Dame!’

Showering her family with praise, Deborah said: ‘My family are being amazing and as emotional as it all is, we are finding so much to smile about in the sadness.

‘I may be getting weaker and more tired each tired having run off pure adrenaline, but my word, I always said I wanted to slide in sideways when my time is up, with a massive smile, no regrets and a big glass of champagne! Still my intention!!!’

Lauren Mahon, Deborah’s co-host on You, Me And The Big C, commented underneath the post: ‘You’re a phenomenon babe.’

Writer Bryony Gordon wrote: ‘Your magic made this happen. You have changed so many people’s lives for the better. Can’t stop thinking about you, you wonderful human! Xxx.’

TV personality Katie Piper dubbed Deborah ‘amazing’, while Great British Bake Off star Candice Brown said: ‘So much love for you.’

When it was announced that Deborah had been made a Dame, she said that .

‘I’m humbled and blown away that 5 years of talking about poo can lead to a Dame hood! I feel honoured and shocked that I even got considered,’ she said.

In her post shared earlier this week to announce that she had , Deborah explained that right now, she’s ‘taking it a day at a time, step by step and being grateful for another sunrise’.

‘My whole family are around me and we will dance through this together, sunbathing and laughing (I’ll cry!!) at every possible moment!’ she wrote.