Amy Dowden says she feels ‘back to the old Amy’ after cancer treatment
Watch: Amy Dowden says she finally feels like 'the old Amy' again after cancer treatment
Amy Dowden has said she recently started feeling like her "old" self again, following a year and a half of cancer treatment and recovery.
The Strictly star, 34, appeared on BBC Breakfast on Wednesday 18 December alongside her dance colleague and friend Carlos Gru to talk about their forthcoming UK tour, Reborn.
It comes after Dowden was forced to exit the latest series of Strictly due to an injury. She was partnered with JLS singer JB Gill, but suffered from a stress fracture on her shin and had to pull out.
Speaking to hosts Sally Nugent and Jon Kay, Dowden said she is "doing really well", adding: "To dance in the final was just lush. Especially considering the two years that I’ve had, absolutely!"
The professional dancer, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2023 and who also lives with Crohn’s disease, reflected on how "challenging" the past couple of years have been.
Through her and Gru’s new tour, she hopes to show the "ups and downs" while also giving viewers "confidence" and to "uplift them".
"The truth behind the struggles but also, you can get through them and don’t get bitter, get better," she said.
"During [chemotherapy], you feel so ill, so rotten and actually, only in the last few weeks I’ve felt like I’ve really got my energy back now.
"Whereas throughout the year last year, I was constantly feeling stronger and better. Only in the last few weeks have I realised, yeah, actually I feel like back to the old Amy."
Dowden added: "Now I can push this on stage with my best friend Carlos, who was there throughout all of my cancer diagnosis."
Earlier this month, Dowden spoke about how people seemed to "forget" that she had the gastrointestinal condition Crohn’s disease when she was diagnosed with cancer, despite the former being a life-long illness.
During an appearance on Lorraine, she said: "Since I was diagnosed with cancer, I think people forgot about my Crohn’s, and I would be like, 'Hang on, this is a condition I live with forever'.
"They’ll ask me about the cancer and I’ll say, 'Well actually, my Crohn’s is bad at the moment'."
Dowden underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy to treat the stage three breast cancer. In February, she was told she had "no evidence of the disease".
She is set to take part in Strictly Come Dancing’s live tour in 2025, which will see her dancing alongside her fellow colleagues as well as former celebrity contestants. The tour will visit nine UK cities, including Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Glasgow, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Nottingham, and London.
Read more about Amy Dowden:
Amy Dowden explains how Crohn's could have affected her cancer treatment (Yahoo Life UK, 4-min read)
Amy Dowden tearfully reveals missed cancer recovery milestone (Yahoo Entertainment, 4-min read)
Amy Dowden says breast cancer charity potentially saved her life (PA Media, 3-min read)
