Strictly's Amy put 'strain' on herself to dance again after cancer

Amy Dowden of Strictly Come Dancing says she put too much strain on herself to recover and return to work after her cancer diagnosis. Dowden was just 32 years old when she was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer in May 2023 after discovering a lump in her breast the day before her honeymoon. Dowden, the first Welsh professional dancer to perform in Strictly Come Dancing, has opened up about her illness, including mastectomy, chemotherapy, and fertility therapy. Dowden told her breast surgeon, Dr. Naren Basu, that she became fixated with returning to dancing during the height of her illness, while speaking on a new podcast ahead of her 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing.

Dowden went from booked and swollen to a complete halt after her illness, and she feared she'd never dance again.

I was told I needed a mastectomy straight away, and I thought, 'I have both off',

Dowden said on theBreast Cancer Uncoveredpodcast.

I didn't want to get back to my health and for [the cancer] to return in the other breast, so I didn's want to come back and deal with it. I wanted to get to the point of beginning with my life.

Dowden, a Crohn's disease sufferer, said this meant she was more at risk of infection, and doctors had advised her to focus on the cancer and that they would deal with the other breast later in the process.

But at the time, I was extremely emotional, I'm worried about the future and [the cancer] coming back,

Dowden said. "I wasn't considering any of my choices at the time.

Dowden had a mastectomy but she recalled not knowing what she was going to wake up with or what it would look like. She said she initially refused reconstructive surgery before deciding on an implant, something she now so grateful for. Dowden said, "I'm really happy with my plastic surgery and my implant. There are several options for reconstruction, one of which may be overwhelming. According to Cancer Research UK, the key types of breast reconstruction include implants to repair all or some of the breast tissue, having a breast shape made from existing body tissue, or a combination of an implant and body tissue.

Dr. Basu, Dowden's surgeon, said cancer among women aged 25-50 appeared at a more advanced stage, when the tumor is larger and may have spread to the lymph nodes. Dr Basu said breast density, which is higher in younger women's breast tissue, could also make breast cancer diagnosis difficult, especially in a mammogram. Dowden said,

I felt I was too young to be diagnosed with breast cancer,

she continued. She continued to wonder how and why, as her condition. She said she was told by doctors that her breast cancer was aggressive, and that she was often the case in younger women. Anti-oestrogen therapy is often used by those like Dowden, who have a hormonal oestrogenic cancer, which can also influence fertility. Dowden underwent fertility therapy to save five of her embryos before chemotherapy and anti-oestrogen therapy, which reduces the ovaries. As a result of the therapy, she was put into an early menopause, which she discussed in herBBC documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer And Me. Dowden has been warned not to try for a baby until it is safe to do so, and some doctors have recommended around ten years of anti-oestrogen therapy for optimal results. I have always wanted to be a mother, Dowden said.

Dowden returned to the Strictly Come Dancing line-up in 2024, but she was forced to pull out of the show after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot. As she returns to the Strictly Ballroom dance floor, she said she is still on a quest to raise concerns about breast cancer. I wasn't checking myself, she said. "I might not even be seated here right now. Dowden said she felt more confident than ever and hoped to take every opportunity available to her. On September 20th, BBC One and BBC iPlayer will be broadcasting Strictly Come Dancing's premiere on BBC One & BBC tv, and BBC GoGo will be