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Amy Dowden has opened up about the thing that made her cry the most after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 34-year-old man Strictly come dancing The professional discovered she had the disease in May 2023 after discovering a lump in her breast. She has kept her followers updated on her experience as she recovered from stage three breast cancer and was given the all clear in February this year.
Dowden, who will return to the BBC dance floor next month, is publishing a new memoir detailing her chemotherapy sessions, her mastectomy and a life-threatening battle with sepsis.
In the book, titled Dancing in the rainThe professional revealed that she cried more for having lost her hair.
“My life away from Strictly “It was clearly unglamorous,” he said in an excerpt obtained by Online mail“With each new round of chemotherapy, the next challenge became more and more apparent. Before I could say goodbye to cancer, I would have to say goodbye to my hair. And I think I cried more about that than anything else.
“I would have to trim it, cut it, and eventually shave it completely, and then face the terrifying decision of appearing on national television with a bald, hairy head.”
In September 2023, Dowden said she decided to “take control” and shave her head because she was “crying every day” due to hair loss from her chemotherapy treatment.
She shared a video of her loved ones shaving her hair and described it as “the hardest step so far.”
But Dowden was later seen admiring the results in the mirror and wrote in the caption: “This too shall pass. I did my best to save it. I know it's just hair but these last few months have taken so much from me it's made me feel like Amy.
“I miss every possible aspect of dance. I just wanted to retain my identity with my hair and I tried to convince myself I wouldn’t. But I was afraid of the pain of waking up with ruined hair every day.”
A month later, the dancer, who was forced to withdraw from last year's competition, Strictly Due to his illness, he decided to ditch his wig and “face baldness” moments before his surprise appearance on an episode.
Dowden was widely praised for the decision by viewers, with the show's co-host Claudia Winkleman telling her: “We're so excited that [you’re] well enough to be here.”
The professional has appeared in the BBC series since 2017.
