Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has revealed that her father threatened legal action after doctors dismissed her symptoms before she was diagnosed with Crohn's disease. The 36-year-old dancer, who now shows "no evidence of disease" after treatment for breast cancer, spoke about her earlier health ordeal on The Lewis Nicholls Show podcast.
Dowden, who is currently competing on the BBC series with celebrity partner Chris Appleton, was diagnosed with Crohn's disease at 19 after years of debilitating pain, sickness, fatigue and repeated hospital stays since childhood. She was hospitalised for six weeks, during which she said she felt the most unwell she had ever felt "in my life".
Doctor told dancer to 'eat a Mars bar'
During the podcast, Dowden recalled the frustration she and her family felt when one doctor brushed aside her symptoms, wrongly assuming she had an eating disorder and telling her to "go and eat a Mars bar".
Describing her mother Gillian's reaction, Dowden said: "I can remember my mum burst into tears in that appointment and I was so ill, I was just in shock and I just wanted answers. And then my mum said, 'well, if that's what you think, you need to treat her for that then, she needs help', and they didn't.
"And I can remember just breaking down in tears, and then when I was 19, I was that poorly, I was in hospital and I was at absolute... I was so ill."
Father's legal warning led to transfer
The inadequate care became so alarming that Dowden's father Richard warned of potential legal proceedings. She said: "I don't think, except from when I had sepsis, that I've ever been this ill in my life and they ended up calling my parents at about three o'clock in the morning and I said, 'I can't do this anymore'.
"And they came down to the hospital, and the nurses said how poorly I was, and then my dad saw the doctor and he was just like, 'we can't take this anymore, we're going to seek legal advice, you're not doing anything'. And my dad was like, 'this is not my little girl anymore. If this was your daughter, you wouldn't have it.'"
Following her father's confrontation, Dowden was transferred to UCL London after spending six weeks in hospital without a diagnosis. Her new consultant then "took one look at me, listened to some of my symptoms, and said, 'I can't confirm it but I think you've got Crohn's disease'."
Diagnosis brought 'relief' and resilience
Dowden described the "relief" she and her family felt upon finally receiving the diagnosis, as it meant she could access the surgery and treatment required to "finally get on with my life" and pursue her dream of becoming a dancer.
She added: "My parents and I were just so upset because we didn't feel like doctors were listening to us. I think they saw a skinny dancer and thought, 'she's anorexic', and actually, I do eat, that wasn't the issue at all."
Despite her struggles, Dowden said her battles with Crohn's disease instilled in her a sense of "resilience", which proved beneficial when she was later diagnosed with cancer. She admitted: "It [cancer] was also, in some respect, easier for me, because I'd already been through so many tests from a young age; long hospital stays, injections, infusions, that none of that was new to me."
