Strictly Come Dancing star diagnosed with breast cancer aged 32

The professional dancer also lives with Crohn’s disease

Amy Dowden attends the Virgin TV British Academy Television Awards at The Royal Festival Hall on 13 May 2018 (Getty Images)

Professional dancer Amy Dowden has revealed that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The Strictly Come Dancing star, 32, said she received the diagnosis “last week” and described it as “another hurdle” in her life.

Speaking to Hello!magazine, Dowden said: “I’ve been through quite a lot in my life and this is another hurdle.

“But if I’m positive and strong, I’ve got a really good chance of getting back out on the dance floor as soon as possible.”

Dowden also suffers from Crohn’s disease, a lifelong condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed. She campaigns for awareness around Crohn’s and released a BBC documentary Strictly Amy: Crohn’s and Me about living with the disease in 2020.

She pointed towards her work around raising awareness of Crohn’s and said she hopes to “do the same” with breast cancer.

“If I can try to turn this negative into a positive, it’s going to help me get through this,” she added.

The dancer, who married her partner Ben Jones in South Wales last July, continued: “You just don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you. I hadn’t thought it was possible to get breast cancer at my age.”

She revealed that her mother has also had breast cancer in the past, but she was diagnosed in her fifties.

JJ Chalmers competing on Strictly Come Dancing with partner Amy Dowden (BBC) (PA Media)

According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 55,900 new breast cancer cases in the country every year, with around 5,000 women under the age of 45 diagnosed.

Around eight in 10 (80.6 per cent) of women in England who are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 44 survive breast cancer for 10 years or more, data from the organisation shows.

Dowden said she only began making a “conscious effort” to check her breasts for signs of cancer after taking part in CoppaTrek! With Gi, a fundraising walk led by blogger and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher for breast health charity CoppaFeel!

She credited the charity with “potentially [saving] my life”, adding: “I don’t know how long this lump could have been there before I would have noticed and done something about it.”

The dancer added that she hoped speaking about her diagnosis “might end up saving some other people’s lives” if she prompts them to check their breasts.

She first found a “hard lump” in her right breast in April, a day before she and Ben were due to fly to the Maldives for a delayed honeymoon.

Dowden said she was “in shock” and initially thought the lump could have been “period-related” or something else, but decided to “keep an eye on it”.

After returning from holiday, Dowden said she realised the lump “felt so much bigger” while preparing to do a dance show with her husband and decided it was time to see her GP. She was sent for an emergency referral.

Dowden’s doctors believe the cancer was discovered early, but she is still awaiting more information before getting a full treatment plan, which “will definitely include surgery”, she said.

“I don’t know what stage the cancer is yet, until I have an MRI scan and a biopsy on a second lump they have found in the same breast,” she explained. “Once they’ve got that, they can give me a full prognosis.”

Posting on Instagram after her interview was published this morning (Wednesday 24 May), Dowden told her followers: “Hey all, I’ve got some news that 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.”