Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has candidly opened up to share her breast cancer journey.
The dancer appeared on ITV’s Loose Women today where she spoke about her diagnosis and treatment.
Amy told the panel: “The day before I went on my honeymoon, I found a lump on my breast. But I’d only recently started checking my breasts.
“I went on the Copperfield trek with Giovanna [Fletcher] when I was partnered with Tom Fletcher – and that’s the wonderful thing about Strictly, is the friendship it creates. The Fletchers welcomed me into their family. Later that year, I went on a trek with G and whilst I was on the trek, I was with ladies who were telling me their stories.”
She continued: “Some of them were walking because they’ve been through breast cancer or they were walking for somebody else and their ages were very similar to mine and I was thinking, ‘Hang on I’m here raising awareness and I don’t even check myself’, so potentially Copperfield and the Fletchers, and Strictly partnering me with the Fletchers, has now saved my life.”
Amy went on to share the moment that she received confirmation of her diagnosis, recalling: “I could tell from the breast care nurses, who are just phenomenal. They are handpicked, they’re amazing and then I could tell from the surgeon’s face and then he said to me you’ve got breast cancer and then in the next sentence, ‘What’s your plans for children?’, and for me that was just…
Admitting why she was reluctant to have chemotherapy initially, Amy explained: “I knew that was it for Strictly that season and I’ve just watched my beautiful friend, my pink sister Jenny, go through cancer and she had to have chemotherapy and we did the ring-the-bell party we arranged for her and I’ve seen what it put her through.
“I was just really scared and I didn’t want to lose my hair and I didn’t want to miss out on Strictly.”
Revealing how her Strictly Come Dancing family have supported her and her plans to return to the next series Amy said, “[They’ve been] absolutely amazing.
“And that’s the heartbreaking thing, I get into dance mode and you know on a Saturday, I know that everyone is in hair and makeup and you know the songs that are about to play and I would do anything to be there right now but I’ve got to be patient.
“I keep saying to myself, ‘This too shall pass’ and unfortunately, people are getting diagnosed every day with breast cancer – I just hope that I can give them some encouragement, that they can see that I got through it and I got back on the dancefloor and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
To see the full interview visit www.itv.com/watch/loose-women
