James was diagnosed in 2016 and kept her thousands of followers updated with candid accounts of her treatment.

The former deputy head teacher said a Bowelbabe Fund – named after her online handle – was being set up to fund research into personalised medicine for cancer patients, and to support campaigns to raise awareness of bowel cancer.

Since going live on Monday evening, the fund has already raised over £1m.

James told her Instagram followers she was “utterly blown away” by the response to her appeal. She wrote: “I never in my wildest dreams thought we’d be waking up to this total 12 hours later. I’m actually crying!”

In December, the mother-of-two reflected on the five years that had passed since she was told she had incurable cancer, saying: “I’m fully aware I shouldn’t be alive to write this today.”

But in a new post on her Instagram page, @bowelbabe, she said she had to deliver “the message I never wanted to write”.