Strictly star Amy Dowden's cancer journey in full -first symptom to 'tough love' decision
| Published date | 25 April 2024 |
| Publication title | Daily Mirror, The: Web Edition Articles (London, England) |
From the getgo, she expressed her determination to get back on the dancefloor, telling fans on Instagram: "Hey all, I've got some news which isn't easy to share. I've recently been diagnosed with breast cancer but I'm determined to get back on that dance floor before you know it."
Ever since, Amy, who is married to co-star Ben Jones, has shared updates with fans, raising awareness of her symptoms to the type of treatment she has had and how she's felt as a consequence. Almost a year on, there is "no evidence of disease", but she is left coming to terms with the toll it's had on her.
Speaking on The One Show at the start of the month, as she hosted a dance class for women undergoing cancer treatment, she shared how difficult it was to lose her hair from chemo. "Taking the decision to shave my hair off was definitely the hardest step to take throughout my whole cancer journey but I wanted to be in control," she revealed.
"A cancer diagnosis is devastating but I'm in awe of all the women I’ve met," she added. "They’re reclaiming their bodies, finding positivity and joy at the hardest of times."
The dancer has spoken about the first moment she discovered a lump in her breast, one day before her honeymoon to the Maldives with Ben in April. She had only just begun checking herself, following a charity trek with the breast cancer charity CoppaFeel!
"I was in the shower and I felt this hard lump in my right breast. I was in shock; I checked again," she told HELLO! Magazine. After realising the lump had grown while on holiday, Amy went to see her GP and was sent for an emergency referral. It was then she was suddenly diagnosed with aggressive stage three breast cancer. "You just don't ever think it's going to happen to you. I hadn't thought it was possible to get breast cancer at my age," she continued, explaining that her mum had breast cancer in her fifties.
That month, Amy underwent a mastectomy and surgeons removed three tumours and further cancer specks, plus some lymph nodes from her right breast. But days afterwards, doctors discovered a second type of breast cancer in the tissue they removed, plus more tumours...
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