Strictly star Amy Dowden's vow as she declares she's 'stopped being angry'

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has shared a health update with fans as she gears up to return to the dance floor

Amy Dowden says she has "stopped being angry" and is determined to move on from her cancer.

The 34-year-old star - who announced she had grade three cancer in May 2023 - has given her fans a candid look into her treatment and recovery in an emotional new documentary. She also has her own book 'Dancing In The Rain' out next month. In a new interview with Prima, Amy speaks about overcoming her battle with breast cancer, tackling negative thoughts, her new book, and why she’s so excited to return to the dancefloor this autumn.

She told the magazine: “I’ve come through the other side, and I can’t be angry any more. I can’t change what’s happened, I can only move on. I have the rest of my life ahead of me and I can’t give it any more time than it has already taken.”

“When you suffer from a chronic illness or cancer, there’s a weird sense that the world is spinning without you. Your normality is taken away and you lose a sense of purpose. I’m usually such a busy bee, but I was waking up every day and not doing what I love, so the book gave me purpose in what was a very lonely dark time.”

Amy was initially diagnosed with grade three breast cancer, aged 32, in May 2023 after finding a lump in her breast the day before she went on her honeymoon. She hoped the surgery would solve it, but two months later was told doctors had found "more tumours" and "another type of cancer".

The Strictly star, who had a mastectomy, eventually got the all clear earlier this year. On overcoming negative thoughts, she added: “Some memories were particularly painful.

"The moment when I was in hospital, so poorly with sepsis – it always upsets me when I go back to that. I was so lucky that I pulled through. My chemotherapy journey was still very raw, so that was tough, and I wasn’t the energetic Amy I once was, so there were times when writing the book where I’d be like, ‘Okay, that’s enough for today.’”

Amy will be back on screen again soon when she joins the Strictly Come Dancing team. Getting the all-clear has allowed her to focus fully on her return to Strictly, the BBC's flagship Saturday night TV show.

She said: "Strictly has changed everything, from the opportunities it’s given me – I’ve got to do tours, travel the world, buy a house, open a dance studio – to the people it’s brought into my life... I’ve been in life-or-death situations, so dancing a one-minute-30-second routine for entertainment isn’t quite the same as walking into chemotherapy.”

The October 2024 issue of Prima is now on sale.

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