Strictly’s Amy Dowden gives health update after having two tumours removed following devastating cancer diagnosis
STRICTLY Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has revealed she is facing an anxious wait after undergoing surgery to remove two tumours.
The professional dancer, 32, revealed last month that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer and she is now recovering after a gruelling operation.
In a new interview, Amy has told how surgeons removed two tumours, several lymph nodes and “three further cancer specks” last week.
She is now waiting nervously to find out what stage her cancer is at, if it has spread and what treatment she will need.
Amy told The Mirror she will have to receive radiotherapy and potentially chemotherapy too, along with urgent fertility treatment to protect her chance of having children.
She has also been given a mastectomy on one side, although surgeons were able to reconstruct her breast with an implant at the same time.
Amy said to the newspaper: “The hardest time was waiting for surgery, thinking ‘I have cancer inside me’.
“You’re thinking ‘It’s grade three, what if it’s spreading, what if it spreads tonight?’
“The feeling of it made me feel disgusted, disgusting. That’s the time I was randomly crying, emotional.
“But we drove away and I thought, ‘It’s gone’.
Amy confirmed her diagnosis last month in an emotional statement.
The Welsh Strictly star explained how she had found a lump in her breast one day before jetting off on her belated honeymoon with hubby Ben Jones.
She wrote on Instagram: “Hey all, I’ve got some news which isn’t easy to share.
“I’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer, but I’m determined to get back on that dance floor before you know it.
“Welsh love Amy x.”
Last week, Amy posed for a new social media picture and gave a double thumbs up from her hospital bed.
Wearing a gown before undergoing her surgery, she told her fans: “Step one to beating cancer! Rrrrrrready for this fight and more determined than ever to get back on the dance floor.
“#breastcanceryoung #checkyourchest #checkyourlemons #letsdothis #breastcancerawareness #cancer.”
Sadly, Amy has a history of cancer in her family, telling Hello! magazine: “My Mum had thyroid cancer and breast cancer when I was younger, and it was tough to watch her go through it.
“It’s important to remember the effect cancer has on the whole family – it can be just as difficult watching your loved one go through it, and that can take a toll on everyone’s health.”
Amy has also bravely spoken out previously about her life battle with Crohn’s disease.