Amy Dowden has been opening up about her cancer diagnosis.
The Strictly Come Dancing star was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in April and has undergone a mastectomy and chemotherapy to fight the disease.
Earlier this month, Amy, who also lives with Crohn's Disease, celebrated getting to ring the bell after having her last chemotherapy treatment.
Now that she has finished chemo, Dowden spoke out about her anger towards her cancer diagnosis and shared an insight into wanting to be ‘treated as normal’ by those around her.
Amy chatted to Women’s Health, where she was asked if she feels any anger about her diagnosis, to which she responded, “Oh yeah. I always say, I never asked [for] this to happen to me. I’ve always worked so hard”.
“I’ve always been a good person. I looked after myself, I’ve exercised well, haven’t smoked...I do get angry. I just think I’ve been dealt a difficult one”.
“I think it’ll take a while to accept. It took me a long time to accept my Crohn’s. Until I’m back dancing and back to my normal self, I don’t think I will accept it”.
Amy then detailed her wish to be ‘treated as normal’ by others as people often don’t know what to say or how to act when speaking to someone with a serious illness.
“I just want to be treated as normal. When I’m walking outside and I’ve got my headscarf on, I don’t want looks of sympathy or feeling sorry for me – I’m Amy”.
“Sometimes, people don’t know how to address it. Just ask how I am – I will answer you”.
She added, “We don’t want you to feel sorry for us. We’re embracing it. Stand strong with us...Don’t give me that pity look – I don’t need it!”.
The 33-year-old then opened up about the incredible community of women that she has met during her time having treatment done.
“I never thought at 32 I’d be diagnosed with breast cancer. It’s a club you would never wish to be in, but when you’re in it, it’s the most loyal club you could ever be part of. I can speak to my fellow pink sisters and instantly they get it”.
After having her last chemotherapy treatment, Amy shared a photo of herself at the hospital to her 631K Instagram followers and admitted, “It’s chemo number 8! The last one! We are finally here. I’ve cried all morning! Right an afternoon of chemo and then I’m so lucky and grateful to be able to ring that bell! Will never take it for granted!”.
