Strictly’s Amy Dowden reflects on cancer recovery journey
Amy Dowden has been reflecting on her recovering journey since she was diagnosed with cancer.
The Strictly Come Dancing star was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023. Amy had to have a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy last year before being told she had ‘no evidence of disease’ in February 2024.
Now, as she prepares to return to our screens for Strictly, Dowden has spoken out about ‘appreciating her body’ because of everything she’s been through and how much she's 'changed as a person'.
Opening up in videos posted to her 661K Instagram followers on her Stories, Amy said, “It’s been a very long day – rehearsals and then a voiceover for the documentary, which really made me reflect and realise literally how far I’ve come”.
“Finished my active treatment, rung the bell in November, then broke my foot, the blood clots all left, but back now, Strictly, loving it, super grateful and I just think, my body’s been through so much and I’m just appreciating it and I’m proud of my body”.
“I’m still working on my fitness, working on getting my dancing back to what it was. It’s a new body and I've already went through so much and you don't realise when you’re in it, when you’re going through it… you’re just kind of on a survival mode of getting from one week to the next I guess”.
The pro dancer continued, “But I just realised, gosh, what my body went through. I gained two stone in weight and it was fine, it was what my body needed to go through in order to survive. I had lost all of my hair, my eyebrows, my eyelashes, I had everything stripped away from me”.
“It’s definitely changed me as a person. Yeah I struggled to get the weight off me and I actually don't care, it’s about being just fit and healthy. How certain things really don’t matter and I'm just so happy being back dancing, doing what I love and I just appreciate it so much”.
Amy went on to admit, “This time last year would've given anything to be where I am right now”, as she continued to speak about how grateful she is to be back on Strictly.
“I’ve always kept saying during my cancer treatment, ‘I want to get back to the old Amy’, but I think only in the last few days have I thought this, actually, I don't wanna be back to the old Amy, I am a new Amy and I want to be an even better Amy”.
