Strictly Come Dancing pro Amy Dowden has revealed doctors have found a second type of cancer after she was being treated for breast cancer.
The 32-year-old ballroom and Latin dancer, who has been part of the Strictly family since 2017, found a lump in her breast in April 2023 the day before going to the Maldives for her honeymoon.
Upon her return, Dowden visited the GP after noticing that the lump had grown during the course of her holiday and she was sent for an emergency referral.
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Dowden announced in May that she had been diagnosed with grade three breast cancer. There are three different grades of breast cancer and the third is the most aggressive and has the worst prognosis, Cancer Research UK says.
However, Dowden remained hopeful because doctors believed they caught her cancer early.
Dowden told her fans at the time that she was 'determined' to return to the Strictly dance floor as soon as possible.
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After doctors discovered the second type of cancer, Dowden has now told her followers that her plans to return to Strictly have been put on hold until 2024 as she now has to undergo chemotherapy.
On Friday (21 July), Dowden took part in an Instagram Live chat with breast cancer survivor and Paralympic gold medalist Erin Kennedy for the cancer charity CoppaFeel.
The professional dancer said doctors discovered the additional tumours when she went for an MRI scan, leading to the discovery of the other type of cancer which she didn't specify.
She said: “For me, my journey, everything changed. I was originally going to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment."
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"But then, after my MRI, they found another tumour so then it changed into a mastectomy and then, after my mastectomy, unfortunately, they found even more tumours.
“And my pathology wasn't what they were expecting, and they found another type of cancer and then they told me I needed chemo - for me that was a massive blow.
“It wasn't in the plan, originally - and I know the plan you can't get fixated on."
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Amy added: “So, all of a sudden, then I realised, and you get scared, but the oncologist did say that with chemo I've got a really good chance of a cure.
“I was really scared and I didn't want to do chemo but then seeing someone like yourself [Erin] who's carried on and for me straight away it was my dancing, like, you can take away my boob but you can't take my dancing away from me and that's what I get really upset about.”
On her return to Strictly, Dowden said: “This year it means I'm not going to be able to dance with a celebrity on Strictly but I'm in such regular contact with the team,” she said.
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“The BBC have just been utterly incredible."
For advice, support and information, visit Breast Cancer Now.
Gregory Robinson