Amy Dowden has had a tough year but she’s staying positive
Amy Dowden had to step away from competing in this year’s Strictly due to her recent cancer diagnosis.
The professional dancer has had an unbelievably tough year, but she said Strictly helped save her life.
Appearing on Wednesday’s This Morning, Amy opened up about how one celebrity partner helped her to understand how to carry out a breast check properly.
Amy was paired with McFly frontman Tom Fletcher in the 2021 series. The dancer became close with his wife Giovanna Fletcher who was organising a trek to Wales for breast cancer charity CoppaFeel!
When someone else pulled out of the event, she invited Amy to take their place.
Explaining how it impacted her, Amy said, “It was an amazing group and one woman said she was walking because she lost her friend in her earlier twenties and I thought, hang on a minute, here I am trying to raise awareness and I don’t check myself.
“Strictly literally saved my life by pairing me with the Fletchers. I got to know my own chest and I knew something was wrong.
“I did still go on my honeymoon – I found it the day before I went on my honeymoon and didn’t tell my husband.”
Amy and the Fletchers are now planning to pair up once again to organise another charity trip to raise awareness.
Though Amy finished her chemo in November, there’s still a long road to recovery ahead of her as the treatment caused neuropathy, meaning she temporarily lost feeling in her hands and feet.
Reflecting on how her diagnosis affected her, the dancer said, “I’m taking every day as it comes. I thought once I rang that bell I would be fine but it’s not been like that, I find it mentally a lot tougher now. The journey isn’t over yet.
“I’ve had what I love the most taken away from me and I just find that so cruel.”
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