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Louise Thomas
Editor
Amy Dowden has opened up about the detail she “cried most over” after being diagnosed with cancer.
The 34-year-old Strictly Come Dancing pro discovered she had the disease in May 2023 after discovering a lump in her breast. She has kept her fans updated with her journey as she recovered from stage three breast cancer and was given the all-clear in February this year.
Dowden, who is returning to the BBC dancefloor next month, is releasing a new memoir that sees her go into detail about her chemo sessions, her mastectomy and a life-threatening sepsis battle.
In the book, titled Dancing in the Rain, the pro revealed that she cried the most tars over losing her hair.
“My life away from Strictly was distinctly unglamorous,” she said in an extract obtained by MailOnline. “With each new chemo session, the next challenge was growing more and more obvious. Before I could say goodbye to cancer, I would have to say goodbye to my hair. And I think I cried more over that than anything else.
“I would have to trim it, clip it and finally shave it completely – and then face the terrifying decision to appear on national TV with a fuzzy bald head.”
In September 2023, Dowden said she decided to “take control” and shave her head as she was “crying every day” due to her hair falling out due to her chemotherapy treatment.
She shared a video of her loved ones shaving her hair, describing it as “the hardest step so far”.
But, after, Dowden could be seen admiring the results in the mirror and wrote as a caption: “This too shall pass. I tried my best to save it. I know it’s only hair but these past few months I’ve had what feels like so much taken away from me that has made me not feel like Amy.
“I’m missing every possible aspect of dancing. I just wanted to keep my identity with my hair and I tried telling myself it wouldn’t go. But I would dread the pain of waking up to the shredding everyday.”
One month later, the dancer, who was forced to withdraw from last year’s Strictly due to her illness, decided to ditch her wig and “brave the bald” just moments before her 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 pro has appeared on the BBC series since 2017.
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