Strictly's Amy put 'strain' on herself to dance again after cancer
Strictly Come Dancing professional Amy Dowden has said she placed too much pressure on herself to recover and return to work following her breast cancer diagnosis.
Dowden, who was 32 when she discovered a lump the day before her honeymoon in May 2023, was later told she had grade three breast cancer. The Welsh dancer – the first professional from Wales to appear on Strictly – has since spoken openly about her treatment, which included a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility therapy.
Speaking on the Breast Cancer Uncovered podcast ahead of the 2025 series of Strictly, Dowden said she became “fixated” on dancing again even at the height of her illness. “I went from being booked and busy to a complete halt,” she said. “I feared I’d never dance again.”
She recalled being told she needed an immediate mastectomy. “I thought, ‘I’ll have both off.’ I didn’t want to get back to health only for [the cancer] to return in the other breast. I wanted to move on with my life,” she said.
Dowden, who also lives with Crohn’s disease, explained that her condition made her more vulnerable to infection. Doctors advised her to focus on the cancer first, with other decisions to follow later.
Initially refusing reconstruction, she eventually opted for an implant. “I’m really happy with my plastic surgery and my implant,” she said. “There are several options, which can be overwhelming, but I’m grateful I made this choice.”
Her surgeon, Dr Naren Basu, said breast cancer in women aged 25 to 50 often presents at a more advanced stage, partly due to breast density in younger women, which makes detection harder on mammograms.
Dowden admitted she felt “too young” to face such a diagnosis and struggled to understand why it had happened. Doctors told her the cancer was aggressive, which is often the case in younger women. Because her cancer was hormone-driven, she underwent fertility treatment before chemotherapy, saving five embryos. She also began anti-oestrogen therapy, which has triggered an early menopause.
“I have always wanted to be a mother,” she said, though doctors have advised she may need to wait up to 10 years before trying for a baby. Her fertility journey was also explored in her BBC documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me.
Dowden returned to Strictly in 2024 but had to withdraw after suffering a stress fracture in her foot. As she prepares to step back onto the dance floor, she said she feels more confident than ever and is determined to use her platform to raise awareness of breast cancer.
“I wasn’t checking myself,” she admitted. “I might not even be sitting here today if I hadn’t found that lump.”
