Amy Dowden has broken her silence on social media following her cancer diagnosis to thank her fans for their support.
The Strictly Come Dancing pro shared the devastating on Wednesday and revealed that she had been diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer last week.
In light of her announcement, she took to her Instagram stories on Thursday to share a shot of herself dancing on the BBC ballroom stalwart as Sam Ryder performed.
The 32-year-old wrote: “This feeling performing is like no other! The emotion, excitement, adrenaline and I can’t wait for it again.
“It feeds my souls! Thank u for every single comment and message today! It means so much to me and my incredible family I’m so lucky to be surrounded by! Thank you” (sic).
Her post comes amid reports that Strictly bosses aren’t casting a replacement for Dowden in the hopes she will be well enough for the 2023 instalment when it resumes in September.
Even if Dowden can’t participate for the entire season, insiders have said she may return for special episodes of the competition.
An insider told The Sun newspaper: “They won’t be recasting a replacement for Amy and even if she isn’t well enough to take part in a full series, they’ll strive to have her back showcasing her amazing skills in some form.
“That might be in the form of a performance with other pros or even this year’s Christmas special.
“Either way the door remains open for her to return at a time and manner of her choosing”.
The Standard has contacted a Strictly Come Dancing rep for comment.
On Wednesday, the Caerphilly-born star, who joined the BBC dance competition show in 2017, shared her cancer diagnosis on Instagram, telling fans that she is “determined” to return to the dance floor as soon as she can.
She wrote: “Hey all, I’ve got some news which isn’t easy to share. I’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer but I’m determined to get back on that dance floor before you know it.”
Dowden added a pink love heart, signing off with “Welsh love Amy” with a kiss.
She said she found a lump in her breast in April, the day before going to the Maldives on her honeymoon with fellow professional dancer Ben Jones, and hopes to raise awareness of the disease.
Dowden said after realising the lump had grown after her holiday, she went to the GP before being sent for an emergency referral.
She told Hello magazine: “Everything happened so fast within that day. I went on my own and didn’t tell anybody, but when I was there, the nurse said to me ‘You need to have somebody here’ and that’s when Ben found out.
“They told me it was looking very suspicious and to prepare for the worst, hope for the best. They did the biopsy and then we had a wait.”
Last week Dowden was told she had grade three breast cancer.
She said: “My doctor explained to me that there are three grades, and three is the most aggressive, but they feel like they’ve caught mine early and to not be too alarmed because grade 3 would be expected in somebody of my age.”
