Stricyly’s Amy Dowden vows to return to show this year despite breast cancer diagnosis
Amy Dowden is determined to return to Strictly Come Dancing this year despite her recent breast cancer diagnosis.
Professional ballroom dancer Amy, 32, confirmed the diagnosis in May after discovering a lump while preparing for her honeymoon with husband Ben Jones in April.
Amy, who recently underwent a mastectomy, is awaiting results to learn if she needs radiotherapy or radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy.
She said The mirror: ‘If I just have radiation, I’ll be on Strictly again this season. Once the radiotherapy is done nothing will stop me, there is no pressure, but Strictly leave the door open. It has something to work towards.”
“I visualize myself on that Strictly dance floor. Being back in the ballroom with the live audience, the adrenaline and the atmosphere. And the support of the entire Strictly family.”
Determined: Amy Dowden is determined to return to Strictly Come Dancing this year despite her recent breast cancer diagnosis
Dancing queen: Professional ballroom dancer Amy, 32, confirmed the diagnosis in May after discovering a lump while preparing for her honeymoon with husband Ben Jones in April (pictured during the show’s live tour in January)
She then explained how routines could be modified to accommodate her, much like her 2020 partner, JJ Chalmers.
The TV presenter and former Royal Marine was injured in a bomb attack in Afghanistan, and Amy revealed: ‘I used to choreograph for him with one arm in my pocket. He has been a great support, he says, “Cancer messed with the wrong person”.
Amy has become a fan favorite since her first appearance on the show in 2017, working alongside stars such as Brian Conely, Tom Fletcher and Karim Zeroual.
Elsewhere in the interview, Amy shared how she was left in tears and worried that the disease was “spreading inwardly” prior to her mastectomy.
Surgeons removed two tumors from her right breast, as well as cancerous “specifications” and lymph nodes, which have since been sent for analysis.
Amy went on to tell the publication that she hadn’t yet looked at her reconstructed breast for fear of upsetting herself.
According to the health service a mastectomy is surgery to remove a breast. It is used to treat breast cancer in women and breast cancer in men. The surgery usually involves removing most of the breast tissue and skin, and the nipple.
It comes after Amy credited her Strictly Come Dancing colleagues for their incredible support after informing them of her breast cancer diagnosis at a group meeting.
Waiting game: Amy, who recently had a mastectomy, is waiting for results to learn if she needs radiotherapy or radiotherapy in combination with chemotherapy
Stunner: She said, “If I just have radiotherapy, I’ll be back on Strictly again this season.” Once the radiotherapy is done nothing will stop me, there is no pressure, but Strictly leave the door open. It has something to work towards’
Help: She then explained how routines could be modified to accommodate her, much like her 2020 partner and former Marine JJ Chalmers who was injured in a bomb blast
Husband Ben, who exchanged vows with the South Wales dancer last July, also credited family members for helping them maintain a positive outlook.
He told HELLO : ‘Amy has had a lot to process in her life and, as I expected, has shown a lot of resilience over the past few weeks.
“We are both surrounded by many family and friends who will be an important support to us in the coming months. We both remain very positive and remain optimistic for the future.”
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.’
Happy: Amy pictured with husband Ben, whom she thanked for his unwavering support
Close community: Amy has credited her Strictly friends for their support (LR Dianne Buswell, Nadiya Bychkova and Amy Dowden in 2017)
Amy said it was participating in the CoppaTrek! walk last June in support of the CoppaFeel charity! leading her to discover her own cancer.
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.