Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has opened up about a "traumatising" test result that left her fearing she "couldn't go through it again" amid her breast cancer battle. The 35-year-old, first diagnosed with grade three breast cancer in May 2023, has undergone two mastectomies, with the second taking place in November last year.
Fear of Further Treatment
On the Breast Cancer Uncovered Podcast, Amy discussed with breast surgeon Naren Basu the moment a biopsy result raised grave concerns. "I got over my treatment and I just wanted to get my life back," she explained. "I wanted to get my career back on the go again but then I went for my test and it came back that they wanted to investigate further... I was just traumatised."
She had been routinely checking her body and was pleased with her progress, making the news terrifying as she feared chemotherapy again. "I remember the night after that phone call they said they want to do a biopsy... I went to a Girls Aloud concert," Amy added. "It was the big Sarah [Harding] tribute, who they lost and she was so young. I remember Kimberley [Walsh] looking down on me literally on stage and she could see I was in floods of tears."
Emotional Confession
Speaking backstage with Kimberley Walsh, Amy confided in the singer. "As a dancer your career is already short-lived - like a footballer - and I had already felt I had been robbed of so much," she contemplated. "But also we had learned of more family history and that scared me... I want to be a mum and I had already had hormone-fed cancer, which was in the back of my mind."
Despite knowing "the science behind it," Amy confessed to sleepless nights and crippling anxiety. "I decided that the right thing to do was get rid of my breasts," the brave star added. "We spoke and you [Naren] did the surgery and I remember coming round from it and looking at my mum who has been through breast cancer herself and thinking, 'I'm done. I've done it now and it was a case of chapter closed' and finally I could start to look ahead at my future - whereas before there was always that doubt in the back of my mind and fear."
Upcoming Challenges
Amy is set to return to the Strictly dance floor later this year and will also appear on Celebrity Hunted with close friend and Strictly colleague Carlos Gu, in aid of Stand Up to Cancer. Speaking to Digital Spy, the duo discussed their "relentless" rows on the demanding show. "There were highlights there amongst it," Amy said. "It's got to be a hard show, it's for Stand Up to Cancer, it can't be easy. I think we had the biggest argument over carrot cake."
"Which in any normal situation in life, we would not be arguing over. It was him wanting to go to the shop to get carrot cake, but I thought we were at risk, and I didn't want him to go and buy carrot cake in a shop."
