Amy Dowden was supported by the doctors and nurses responsible for helping her through breast cancer treatment as she returned to Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday evening.
The ballroom specialist made an emotional return to the BBC show following a two-year absence, during which she underwent chemotherapy after being diagnosed with grade III breast cancer in 2023.
Paired with JLS star JB Gill, Dowden, 34, moved viewers to tears with her return for the twenty-second series of the long-running celebrity-talent show.
And she was reduced to tears after being given a ringing endorsement from medical professionals at Birmingham’s Good Hope Hospital prior to her appearance.
Taking to Instagram after show aired, the Welsh dancer shared a special message from the team at Good Hope’s Haematology Oncology Day Unit, where she received treatment and after-care.
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Amy Dowden was supported by the doctors and nurses responsible for helping her through breast cancer treatment as she returned to Strictly Come Dancing on Saturday evening
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She was reduced to tears after being given a ringing endorsement from medical professionals at Birmingham ‘s Good Hope Hospital (pictured) prior to her appearance
Opening the message with an address to camera, one doctor – dressed in hospital scrubs – said: ‘Hi Amy, wishing you all the best from your breast team in Birmingham. You truly are an ambassador for the cause.
‘I’m sure you’ll make it all the way to the final. Keep dancing.’
The address was followed by a montage of good luck messages from staff-members at the unit, filmed just hours before she returned to the show.
Sharing the video with her own followers, Dowden admitted she was reduced to tears after seeing it on the Good Hope’s Instagram platform.
‘This video from the drs and nurses who look after me made me cry,’ she wrote. ‘Thank you! Down to you all why I’m back doing what I love! You are all heroes.’
A segment of the launch episode was exclusively dedicated to Dowden’s own performance, for which she was accompanied by a group of fellow professional dancers.
Dowden who is now cancer free – was a vision in a dazzling fuchsia ballroom gown with feather-trim embellishments, twirling around as she displayed her incredible moves.
Strictly fans have been eagerly waiting the star’s return, and didn’t hesitate racing to X – formerly Twitter – to share their excitement.
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Doctors and nurses at Good Hope’s Haematology Oncology Day Unit, where she received treatment and after-care, gave her the thumb’s up on Saturday
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Dowden shared the video with her own Instagram followers following her return to the show
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world. Each year in the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases, and the disease claims the lives of 11,500 women. In the US, it strikes 266,000 each year and kills 40,000. But what causes it and how can it be treated?
What is breast cancer?
It comes from a cancerous cell which develops in the lining of a duct or lobule in one of the breasts.
When the breast cancer has spread into surrounding tissue it is called ‘invasive’. Some people are diagnosed with ‘carcinoma in situ’, where no cancer cells have grown beyond the duct or lobule.
Most cases develop in those over the age of 50 but younger women are sometimes affected. Breast cancer can develop in men, though this is rare.
Staging indicates how big the cancer is and whether it has spread. Stage 1 is the earliest stage and stage 4 means the cancer has spread to another part of the body.
The cancerous cells are graded from low, which means a slow growth, to high, which is fast-growing. High-grade cancers are more likely to come back after they have first been treated.
What causes breast cancer?
A cancerous tumour starts from one abnormal cell. The exact reason why a cell becomes cancerous is unclear. It is thought that something damages or alters certain genes in the cell. This makes the cell abnormal and multiply ‘out of control’.
Although breast cancer can develop for no apparent reason, there are some risk factors that can increase the chance, such as genetics.
What are the symptoms of breast cancer?
The usual first symptom is a painless lump in the breast, although most are not cancerous and are fluid filled cysts, which are benign.
The first place that breast cancer usually spreads to is the lymph nodes in the armpit. If this occurs you will develop a swelling or lump in an armpit.
How is breast cancer diagnosed?
Initial assessment: A doctor examines the breasts and armpits. They may do tests such as a mammography, a special x-ray of the breast tissue which can indicate the possibility of tumours.
Biopsy: A biopsy is when a small sample of tissue is removed from a part of the body. The sample is then examined under a microscope to look for abnormal cells. The sample can confirm or rule out cancer.
If you are confirmed to have breast cancer, further tests may be needed to assess if it has spread. For example, blood tests, an ultrasound scan of the liver or a chest X-ray.
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How is breast cancer treated?
Treatment options which may be considered include surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. Often a combination of two or more of these treatments are used.
Surgery: Breast-conserving surgery or the removal of the affected breast depending on the size of the tumour.
Radiotherapy: A treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation focused on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops them from multiplying. It is mainly used in addition to surgery.
Chemotherapy: A treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells, or stop them from multiplying.
Hormone treatments: Some types of breast cancer are affected by the ‘female’ hormone oestrogen, which can stimulate the cancer cells to divide and multiply. Treatments which reduce the level of these hormones, or prevent them from working, are commonly used in people with breast cancer.
How successful is treatment?
The outlook is best in those who are diagnosed when the cancer is still small, and has not spread. Surgical removal of a tumour in an early stage may then give a good chance of cure.
The routine mammography offered to women between the ages of 50 and 71 means more breast cancers are being diagnosed and treated at an early stage.
For more information visit breastcancernow.org or call its free helpline on 0808 800 6000
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The team offered Dowden their unwavering support ahead of her emotional return to the show
‘It’s so lovely to see Amy Dowden back on the strictly dance floor she has been through hell and back and her family and friends must be so proud she has fought back and returned to good health keep fighting Amy we love you,’ wrote one.
A second added: ‘The mere sight of Amy was enough to induce a cry, I’m so happy she’s back.’
While a third wrote: ‘Lovely to see Amy Dowden back where she belongs on the dance floor & looking so happy & healthy.’
Elsewhere a fourth quipped: ‘I’m literally in happy tears over amy ’s dance like have i turned 40 overnight?’
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The Strictly Come Dancing star was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May 2023
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Strictly fans have been eagerly waiting the star’s return, and didn’t hesitate racing to X – formerly Twitter – to share their excitement
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A segment of the new episode of the hit dancing show was dedicated to Dowden’s own performance, where she was accompanied by a group of fellow dancers
The Strictly star was diagnosed with stage III breast cancer in May 2023 and in what became the toughest year of her life,underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy, fertility treatment and also almost died of sepsis.
Dowden recently told how she’s taking a positive outlook on life after coming through the other side, admitting she’s no longer ‘angry’ at the disease.
Speaking to Prima magazine on how her cancer experience has shaped her, she explained: ‘Cancer has changed me forever. I’ll never take anyone or anything for granted, and I know my own self-worth now.
‘You could maybe have walked over me in the past, but now I know my strength.’
The dancer had found a lump in her breast the day before heading on honeymoon in May last year and after undergoing treatment, she was given the all clear this year.
But while she’s over the worst, Dowden admitted that there were times that she didn’t think she’d make it through the illness as negative thoughts engulfed her.
Recalling the dark times she endured, she explained: ‘I would lay awake for hours, thinking, “Am I going to make it to Christmas? Am I going to dance again?”
‘I don’t go to bed worrying now.’
