Sally Nugent of BBC Breakfast fights back tears.

Sally Nugent of BBC Breakfast held back tears as she paid a heartfelt tribute to Deborah James today.

On Monday, the 40-year-old author, podcaster, and activist announced on social media that she had transitioned to hospice-at-home care as part of her struggle with colon cancer.

Sally and co-host Dan Walker told viewers about Deborah’s newest update on today’s broadcast, with Dan remarking, “Now, many of you will remember Deborah James.”

She’s the host of the podcast You, Me, and the Big C, and she’s appeared on this show several times.

We were fortunate to have her not only on the sofa, but also during the game.

We were privileged to have her not just on the sofa, but we also spoke to her several times during the pandemic, didn’t we?”

Sally went on: “Unfortunately, Deborah, who was diagnosed with colon cancer five years ago, posted on her Instagram account yesterday that she’d been relocated to hospice-at-home care. These are her current words: ‘I never wanted to write this message. We’ve done everything, but my body just won’t cooperate.'”

Sally was overcome with emotion as she read the message, and Dan had to take over since her voice was so thick with tears.

“Deborah has now stated she has established the Bowel Babe fund in her name to raise money for cancer research,” he said.

She provided connections to Cancer Research UK, The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, and Bowel Cancer UK, as well as others.

“And there’s been a lot of money contributed, hasn’t there?”

“I suppose well over £700,000 in the last two hours since she put that out last night, which is an enormous amount of money,” he added. Sally could only nod.

I believe her idea was that she wanted people to give her a drink in exchange for donating money to those charity.”

Sally wasn’t the only presenter moved by Deborah’s story today; Susanna Reid of Good Morning Britain also cried as she praised the campaigner as “inspirational.”

“My active care has ended and I have now been moved to hospice at home care, with my beautiful family all around me, and the focus is on making sure I’m not in pain and enjoying time with them,” Deborah, a Sun writer, said in a statement Wednesday. Nobody knows how much longer I have, but I can’t walk, I sleep most days, and most of the things I took for granted are now pipe dreams “I know we haven’t missed anything. But, even with all of the world’s most creative cancer therapies or some miraculous new breakthrough, my body can no longer keep going.”