Strictly’s Amy Dowden begins chemo for cancer

Strictly dancer Amy Dowden has begun chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer.

Posting on Instagram, she said she wanted to to share her “chemo journey” to help raise awareness.

The dancer, from Caerphilly, announced in May that she had been diagnosed with grade three breast cancer.

After a mastectomy in July, she was told the tumours had spread and another type of cancer was discovered.

Amy, 32, said by documenting her progress, she wanted to get “others checking” their breasts.

“Port fitted. Wasn’t looking forward to it. Wasn’t easy,” she said.

“Feeling tender, bruised and sore but the port will help massively over the next few weeks and allow me to dance when I feel well enough.”

Amy discovered the first lump in April, a day before she was due to fly on her honeymoon to the Maldives with husband Ben.

Appearing on Coppafeel’s external Instagram chat with Erin Kennedy, Amy said: “I was originally going to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment.

“But then, after my MRI, they found another tumour so then it changed into a mastectomy and then, after my mastectomy, unfortunately, they found even more tumours.

“After my mastectomy, unfortunately they found even more tumours. Then they found another type of cancer.”

The diagnosis means Amy will not be able to compete on Strictly this year, but she said she was “in regular contact with the team”.

“The BBC have just been utterly incredible,” she added.

Amy said she hoped to still be able to play some part in the show and her aim was “to continue dancing”.