Strictly’s Amy Dowden heads to hospital to begin her breast cancer treatment

By Liam On Jun 7, 2023

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has revealed she was treated in hospital for her breast cancer.

The dancer, 32, announced last week that she had breast cancer after discovering a lump on her breast while preparing for her honeymoon with husband Ben Jones.

Amy took to Instagram to share a photo from her hospital bed, writing that she was “more determined than ever” to get back on the strict dance floor.

The caption to her post read, “Step one to beat cancer! Rrrrrrready for this fight and more determined than ever to hit the dance floor again.’

Many of Amy’s Strictly co-stars shared their own wishes for the star in the comments below her post with Karen Hauer writing, “Love you ♥️ you got this.”

“Ready for this fight!” Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has revealed she was treated in hospital for her breast cancer

Determined: The dancer took to Instagram to share a photo from her hospital bed, writing that she was ‘more determined than ever’ to get back on the strict dance floor

Tom Fletcher added, “Sending you all the love today. We Fletchers are right behind you. X.’

Former It Takes Two host Zoe Ball commented, “huge love and strength to you, beautiful amy.”

Amy has received a flurry of public support from her Strictly co-stars since publicly sharing her diagnosis, with producers confirming that her position on the show will remain vacant until she returns.

The Strictly Come Dancing professional shared her diagnosis on Instagram in May and discussed the possibility of returning to the BBC show later this year for his new series.

She wrote: “Hello everyone, I have news that is not easy to share. I was recently diagnosed with breast cancer, but I’m determined to get back on the dance floor before you know it. Welsh loves Amy.”

The dancer has been battling Crohn’s disease since childhood and said she’s had “quite a lot” of health issues in her life.

She said HELLO at the time, “You just never think it will happen to you. I didn’t think it was possible to get breast cancer at my age. My mother had breast cancer, but she got it later in life, around 50.’

Amy said it was participating in the CoppaTrek! walk last June in support of the CoppaFeel charity! leading her to discover her own cancer.

Scary: Amy announced last week that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer after discovering a lump on her breast while preparing for her honeymoon with husband Ben Jones

Realizing that she “doesn’t control her breasts,” she then made a conscious effort to control herself by playing CoppaFeel! has “potentially saved her life.”

“I don’t know how long this lump could have been there before I would have noticed it and done something about it,” she added.

Amy said she found a lump in her right breast in April, a day before she and her husband flew to the Maldives for a belated honeymoon following their wedding last July.

The dancer said she was “in shock” and decided to keep an eye on the lump before going to the doctor when the lump grew upon returning home.

She was immediately sent for an emergency referral, where she was told the lump looked ‘suspicious’ and to ‘prepare for the worst’.

After a biopsy, Amy was told she had grade three breast cancer, and said her first question was when she could get back on the dance floor.

Grade three cancer is when the cells look very different from normal breast cells and tend to spread more quickly. The number describes what a cancer cell looks like under a microscope.

It is different from a cancer stage, which describes the size of the cancer and how far it has spread. Amy has yet to find out what stage of cancer she is at.

Amy said her cancer was discovered “early” and she is now waiting for more information before receiving a full treatment plan, including surgery.

She’s awaiting an MRI scan and biopsy after medics found a second lump in her right breast, and after that step she’ll get a full prognosis.

Prognosis: She said her cancer was detected ‘early’ and she is now waiting for more information before receiving a full treatment plan, including surgery

After sharing her diagnosis on Instagram, Amy was inundated with messages of support from her fellow Strictly pros and stars who appeared on the show.

Amy has dealt with a series of health issues over the years after being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at the age of 11.

Crohn’s disease is described by the NHS as a ‘lifelong condition’, where parts of the digestive system become inflamed.

Sufferers may experience extreme abdominal pain, vomiting, exhaustion, and diarrhea, among other symptoms.

What is breast cancer, how many people does it affect and what are the symptoms?

Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year there are more than 55,000 new cases in the UK and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women.

What is breast cancer?

Breast cancer arises from a cancer cell that develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.

When the breast cancer has spread to the surrounding breast tissue, it is called an ‘invasive’ breast cancer. Some people are diagnosed with “carcinoma in situ,” where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.

Most cases develop in women over the age of 50, but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, although this is rare.

Staging means how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.

The cancer cells are graded from low, which means slow growth, to high, which means fast growth. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after being treated first.

What Causes Breast Cancer?

A cancerous tumor starts with one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. Something is thought to damage or alter certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply.

There are some risk factors that can increase the chance of developing breast cancer, such as heredity.

What Are the Symptoms of Breast Cancer?

The usual first symptom is a painless breast lump, although most breast lumps are not cancerous and are fluid-filled cysts, which are benign.

The first place where breast cancer usually spreads is the lymph nodes in the armpit. When this happens, you get a swelling or lump in an armpit.

For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call the toll-free helpline on 0808 800 6000