Charlie Buckland Wales
Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden says she put “so much strain” on herself to recover and return to work after her cancer diagnosis.
Dowden was just 32 when she was diagnosed with grade three breast cancer in May 2023, after finding a lump in her breast the day before her honeymoon.
Dowden, who made history as Strictly’s first Welsh professional dancer in 2017, has been candid about her experiences of the disease, including having a mastectomy, chemotherapy, and fertility treatment.
Speaking on a new podcast ahead of the 2025 series of Strictly Come Dancing, Dowden told her breast surgeon, Dr Naren Basu, that she became “fixated” with returning to dancing during the height of her illness.
Getty ImagesBeing self employed, Dowden said after her diagnosis her diary went from booked and busy to a complete standstill – and she feared she would never dance again.
“When I was told I needed a mastectomy, I straight away said can I have both off,” Dowden told the Breast Cancer Uncovered podcast.
“What I didn’t want was to get back on with my life and for [the cancer] to come back in the other breast, I didn’t want to come back and deal with it. I wanted to get on with my life.”
Dowden, who also has Crohn’s disease, said this meant that she was more at risk of infection and so she was told by doctors to “focus on the cancer” and that they would deal with the other breast further down the line.
“But at the time I was very emotional, I was worried about the future and [the cancer] coming back,” Dowden said.
“I wasn’t looking at all of my options.”
Dowden underwent a mastectomy and recalled not knowing what she was going to wake up with or what it would look like.
She said she initially dismissed reconstructive surgery before deciding to have an implant, something she said she was now “so thankful” for.
“I’m really happy with my plastic surgery and my implant,” Dowden said.
There are several options when it comes to reconstruction, she said, which could be overwhelming.
According to Cancer Research UK, the main types of breast reconstruction include implants to replace 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.
Dowden’s surgeon, Dr Basu, said cancer among women aged 25-50 tended to appear at a more advanced stage, when the tumour 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 difficult to identify in a mammogram.
“I thought I was too young to be diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dowden, adding that her diagnosis left her questioning how and why.
She said she was told by doctors that her breast cancer was very aggressive and was advised that this was often the case in younger women.
For those like Dowden, who have a hormonal oestrogen-fed cancer, anti-oestrogen treatments are frequently used which in turn affect fertility.
Dowden underwent fertility treatment to save five of her embryos before chemotherapy and anti-oestrogen treatment, which suppress the ovaries.
She was put into an early menopause as a result of the treatment, which she opened up about in her documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer And Me.
Dowden has been advised not to try for a baby until it is safe to do so, with some doctors advising around ten years of anti-oestrogen treatment for optimal results.
“I have always wanted to be a mum,” said Dowden.
PA MediaDowden returned to the Strictly line-up in 2024, but was forced to withdraw from the show after being diagnosed with a stress fracture in her foot.
As she looks forward to getting back on the Strictly ballroom dance floor, she said she remained “on a mission to raise awareness” about breast cancer.
“If I wasn’t checking myself, I could potentially not even be sat here right now,” she said.
Despite her “life changing forever”, Dowden said she felt stronger than ever and hoped to take every opportunity available to her.
The launch show of Strictly Come Dancing will be broadcast on One and iPlayer at 18:40 BST on 20 September.
