Amy Dowden has endured a difficult few years following a shock cancer diagnosis, which has seen her and husband Ben Jones put their dreams of starting a family on hold.
The 34-year-old has now faced another hurdle, as she has been forced to temporarily step down from today's Strictly Come Dancing rehearsals. Amy collapsed backstage mere moments after Saturday night's live episode wrapped up, which saw her and celeb dance partner JB Gill impress judges with a scarecrow-inspired foxtrot for Halloween week.
It has since been reported that Amy's Strictly colleague Lauren Oakley will step in for Monday's practice sessions, as the Strictly star focuses on her recovery, reports The Sun. Amy is thankfully said to be 'much better', with JB later expressing a 'huge thank you' on behalf of them both via Instagram, as worried fans issue their best wishes.
This follows a difficult few years health-wise for Amy, who was left facing an agonising IVF decision after being diagnosed with grade 3 aggressive breast cancer in May 2023.
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DIGITAL/EROTEME.CO.UK)Speaking with the Mirror in June of that year, just one month after her shock diagnosis, Amy explained how she'd wanted to have IVF to create and freeze embryos before beginning her cancer treatment, in the hope of giving her and her husband Ben Jones a better chance of still starting the family they longed for. Amy and Ben, who met in their early 20s had planned to have their home extended before starting their family but had to postpone building work as focus turned to her treatment.
According to Amy, she and fellow dancer Ben had already begun discussing their dreams of parenthood prior to her health scare. Explaining that she has 'definitely' always wanted to be a mother, Amy said at the time: "It will be another thing to put on hold. We run a dance school with lots of little girls and boys, I’m a dancing mum already."
Opening up about the conversations she's had with doctors about her fertility prospects, Amy added: "They have promised me. There are no guarantees but they will give it their best shot.”
Amy, who underwent a single mastectomy following her diagnosis, also spoke of her initial reluctance to undergo chemotherapy, as she feared the effects it would have on her quality of life. However, after learning of her wishes to have children, a former dance teacher urged her to think again.
Remembering the instructor's 'tough love' advice, Amy recalled: "She gave me tough love and said ‘What’s the point of these embryos if you’re not going to have chemo? Because you won’t be around to have these babies anyway."
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BBC/Wildflame Productions)Heartbreakingly, back in August, ahead of the release of her documentary Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me, Amy revealed that the treatment she'd undergone had put her into menopause, leaving her with additional challenges when it came to conceiving. She told the BBC: "I had a hormone-fed cancer, so they needed to put me into menopause because my hormones were feeding the cancer. My whole body was feeding cancer. But also because I was having chemotherapy and as amazing as chemotherapy is, it destroys a lot of cells in your body. Your eggs, your ovaries, everything can be damaged and not necessarily reboot again.
"Since we got married, the question we're asked the most is 'When are you going to have kids?' and my body can't go through that right now. You produce so many hormones when you're pregnant, I'd be at such a high risk of my cancer returning. Of course, we want children, but we still don't know. There are so many options, which we're grateful for. With fertility and the pressure in general, you don’t know what someone is going through. People should bear that in mind. We need to educate."
In February of this year, Amy told her Instagram followers that medics had found 'no evidence of disease' during her latest check-up, declaring "Dance floor I'm coming for you." She went on to clarify: "I won't be getting the all-clear for five years - especially with a hormone-fed cancer - but it was all worth it."
However, while filming her BBC documentary back in August, Amy shared that she'd experienced another scare after the results of her annual MRI and mammogram had revealed calcium deposits in one of her breasts, which doctors feared could be a 'precursor to invasive breast cancer'.
Speaking in the doc, Amy said: "I thought I'd just got my life back on track." Adding that this news had 'brought back all of the memories' of her diagnosis ordeal, she admitted: "It felt crushing, I felt sick to my core and so many sleepless nights worried." Thankfully, follow-up tests confirmed that these abnormalities were benign changes, leaving Amy 'so relieved it was unreal'.
Following news of Amy's recent collapse, a source told The Sun: "Lauren will be stepping in today to train with JB. It's unclear when Amy will be back but everyone just wants her to rest and get better."
A representative for Amy stated: "Amy was feeling unwell and so an ambulance was called as a precaution. She is feeling much better and would like to thank the Strictly family for their love and concern. We request Amy's privacy in matters of health is kindly respected."
For more information or support about cancer, you can contact Macmillan Cancer Support or you can call 020 7940 1760 for advice.
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