Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
strictly come dance star Amy Dowden has revealed she no longer feels “emotionally connected” to her body following her recent mastectomy.
The 35-year-old Welsh dancer was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, after which she had to undergo chemotherapy and an early mastectomy.
In November, she announced that she would have another mastectomy, clarifying in an Instagram post that this was not a new cancer diagnosis and that she expected to have a “straight recovery.”
Dowden appeared on Channel 4 stand up to cancerWhere he reflected on his previous appearance in 2023, when he spoke with a shaved head during his ongoing treatment for the disease.
She said: “Two years ago, when I was last here, it was a very different story.
“I had no hair, in fact I didn’t even recognize myself, but I’m very proud of how far I’ve come.
“At the time I was going through the hardest journey of my life. A cancer diagnosis, it changes you forever.
“I still get monthly injections in the oncology unit. I have been put into menopause because of my hormone-fed cancer.
“I don’t know if I’ll have the honor of being the mother I want to be able to be…
“Five weeks ago, I had another mastectomy, so I’m not as emotionally attached to my body anymore, but I’m very proud of how far it’s come, and I’m very grateful for another shot at life.”
She added: “A cancer diagnosis, it changes you forever. I’m no longer the person I was, and it’s not by choice.”
Dowden missed out on a celebrity partner in Strictly 2023 during her treatment, but has since returned to the BBC One dancing show.
The dancer has documented her cancer experience online, and revealed in February 2024 that her latest health checkup found “no evidence of disease”.
She said: “I never thought I’d get back on the dancefloor. I couldn’t see how I’d get Amy back again.
“I hated the way I looked. I had no energy and I was scared.
“I was scared, you know, I would cry myself to sleep.
“My husband used to hear me crying in the shower.
“I just yearn to have that old Amy back and I know I can never get her back.”