Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden has revealed that she was rushed to hospital on Monday, where she learnt that a blood clot had been found on her lung.
The professional dancer, 33, who first joined the cast of Strictly in 2017, announced that she could no longer compete in the BBC show earlier this year after she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer and started receiving chemotherapy treatment.
Dowden has been sharing health updates with her fans on social media throughout her treatment and shared the happy news last month that she had completed all eight rounds of chemotherapy.
However, in a new update, Dowden told her fans on Thursday (30 November) that she has had a “nightmare week” after she was unexpectedly rushed to hospital.
“It seems to be never-ending,” she said in a video shared on Instagram. “I was rushed into hospital on Monday and it came to our knowledge on Tuesday that I’ve got another blood clot on my lung and they were really worried that the clot was travelling to my heart or affecting my heart… luckily enough it’s not,” she said.
“This was shock and it just means now… I’m really gutted… I was on blood thinners anyway for the blood clots in my arm…. I’ve still got a blood clot on my lung and obviously, it’s quite close to my heart – there’s a risk.
Dowden said she is receiving regular blood thinning rejections for the “foreseeable” and will have another scan in a few weeks.
The Welsh choreographer added that she felt frustrated from experiencing another setback, just weeks after she told her fans that she had fractured her foot and would not longer be able to appear in remaining episodes of Strictly.
While she was not competing, she had been heavily involved in the latest series wherever she could.
Dowden said that she had been working hard to get her “life back” post-chemotherapy and had planned a busy week with voiceover work.
“You just get into your head when you finish chemo that that’s it. But you learn… it really isn’t. This chemo is still in my body. It’s three weeks today since I finished chemo.
“I’m home now after a few nights in hospital and I’ve for the [Christmas] tree up so at least it’s cosy.”
She admitted that she’d had a “rubbish rubbish week” after her hospital scare and was also concerned about the lack of growth of her hair post-chemotherapy.
“I’m really frustrated because I thought my hair was coming back way quicker. Looking at photos from a couple of weeks ago, I look like I had more hair than I do now,” she said.
“I have to wait until this chemo comes out of my system. But I just seem to be losing… they’re microbladed… but my eyebrows and eyelashes are just going. That’s what’s frustrated [me] and is getting me down.”
“I’m gonna rest up because I want to get back to Amy and get back to doing what I love.”
Amy Dowden appearing on ‘Strictly’— (Instagram via @amy_dowden)
Despite not being able to be involved competitively in Strictly, Dowden has delighted fans when she’s made several surprise appearances throughout the current series.
In October, Dowden arrived on the show in a sparkly gown to read out the terms and conditions for voting. Dowden later revealed that she decided to “brave the bald” just moments before appearing in front of the cameras, with the professional dancer crediting her Strictly cast members for giving her the “courage” to ditch her wig.
Dowden was diagnosed with breast cancer in May, and underwent a mastectomy in July. The professional dancer was later told she would have to begin a course of chemo after doctors discovered the cancer had spread.
In a new interview, Dowden shared that watching Strictly was “a great help” while she was undergoing treatment, adding the BBC team has also “gone above and beyond” to include her this season.
“I’m my fellow professionals’ biggest cheerleader. I know people are like, ‘Yeah, yeah...’ but we’re the best of friends,” she told Women’s Health magazine.
Dowden also said that her castmates – including Dianne Buswell, Carlos Gu, and Katya Jones – “check in on me” every day, while the production team has aimed to involve her in each week.
Strictly Come Dancing continues Saturday 2 December at 18.40pm on BBC One.
