Amy Dowden, a professional dancer for Strictly Come Dancing, has revealed the emotional impact of her breast cancer diagnosis and earlier this year.
Amy Dowden, a Strictly Come Dancing professional, has opened up about the devastating emotional impact of her breast cancer diagnosis, revealing how being diagnosed with two different cancers left her “broken” and wrestling with difficult future questions.
The 35-year-old dancer, who has been a mainstay on the popular BBC programme for years, first discovered a lump in her breast earlier in 2023, the day before jetting off to the Maldives on her honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones.
Following scans, further scans revealed that Amy had breast cancer, which was confirmed by medical tests, and additional tumors were discovered as well.
She underwent surgery and discovered that she had ductal and lobular breast cancer, which made her treatment significantly more difficult than she had anticipated. She was diagnosed with both breast cancer and had devastating news.
Following the diagnosis, Amy had a mastectomy, followed by chemotherapy, which led to a medically-induced menopause. She also experienced concerns about her fertility throughout the chaos of her recovery and treatment, according to Wales Online.
Speaking about this challenging time, Amy told The Dr Hilary Show podcast: “You’re in that world where you’ve just got married, you know, you’re being asked about your fertility plans. I would love the honour of being a mum, so that was a real, you know…
“Devastating news of a cancer diagnosis” You suddenly consider, “What do you mean fertility?” What do you mean by that? That truly broke my heart. She continued, “I cried so much and couldn’t stop myself.”
Amy explains how her cancer didn’t fully manifest itself in her initial MRI scan. I had my MRI, and it revealed a lump that was larger than the doctors had anticipated, along with a few other tumors. Then a mastectomy was decided.
“After the surgery, they discovered that I had breast cancer of two different kinds. Before, they knew I had ductal cancer, but I now have both. My breast tissue was lobular, according to the surgeon who sent it to pathology.
Amy took the challenging but optimistic decision to freeze her eggs before starting chemotherapy. I now have future fertility options because I managed to get five embryos. I’m 35 now. I would have loved to be a mother right away, probably one day, if I had been diagnosed.
According to Amy, doctors would only consider stopping her hormone treatment after a predetermined amount of time. It’s about how long ago it’s been treating patients, not how many years. In January 2027, my consultant has agreed to follow up on our conversation. The fact that I still have my embryos makes me feel comforting.
She also found comfort in the timing of her egg-freezing process. The good news is that my eggs were produced when I was younger than I am now. Therefore, the quality is from when I was 32, which is comforting even if I use them at 38, 39, or 40. I still have no idea how my body will react, which is obvious.
Amy was teamed up with reality TV sensation Thomas Skinner in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing series.
