Amy Dowden reminisced on her breast cancer treatment, describing it as the ‘toughest year’ of her life.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, 33, announced her stage 3 cancer diagnosis earlier this year, forcing her to miss this year’s dance event without a celebrity partner.
Amy is presently having chemotherapy after doctors detected further tumours, but she has kept a positive attitude and shared her experience on social media for her admirers in an effort to raise awareness.
This Friday (November 3), the Welsh actor also participated on the Stand Up To Cancer live show at the Francis Crick Institute to commemorate a decade of the Cancer Research UK campaign.
She looked stunning, grooming her bald head and opting not to wear a wig after removing her long hair when it began to come out.
Amy, who was dressed in a blue jacket and matching pants, spoke with presenter Davina McCall before her final chemo treatment on Thursday.
Amy understandably expressed her desire to ‘ring that chemo bell,’ as many cancer patients do to signal the end of their treatment.
‘It has been the toughest year of my life but I’m just really hoping with the surgery that I’ve already had and the chemo that I’ve done enough,’ she said.
‘I’ve had sepsis, blood clots, I’ve had to have hormone treatment then been put into menopause.
‘When I sat in that room and the doctors said, “Amy, yes you have cancer”, that was one stab, and then, “What’s your fertility plans?”, because I’ve got an oestrogen-fed cancer and they need to shut my ovaries down, basically, and my husband is next to me and we’ve only been married a couple of months.
‘It’s just heartbreaking and that is something I never knew and the impact emotionally, it has just been so tough.’
Amy revealed in June that she had had a mastectomy, explaining to Davina that mammograms aren’t available in the UK until you’re in your forties.
‘I would never have thought at 32 I was going to get diagnosed with breast cancer,’ she admitted.
‘If I wasn’t checking myself I would never have found it. If you’re not checking yourself, who is? Get to know your own chest,’ she urged.
The loved Welsh dancer also stated that the NHS was ‘incredible’ throughout her breast cancer treatment.
Macmillan cancer support
If you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, Macmillan can offer support and information.
You can contact their helpline on 0808 808 00 00 (7 days a week from 8am to 8pm), use their webchat service, or visit their site for more information.
