Amy Dowden reflects on life after cancer treatment
BBC"Trust your instincts, trust your gut and remember you know you better than anyone else."
Strictly Come Dancing's Amy Dowden has been reflecting on her experiences since being diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago.
The 34-year-old from Caerphilly revealed she had breast cancer in May 2023 after finding a lump in April, the day before her honeymoon with fellow dancer Ben Jones.
On Friday, the BBC confirmed she would be returning for Strictly's 2025 series.
Amy needed a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy and was unable to compete with a celebrity partner on Strictly in 2023.
In February 2024, Dowden announced she had "no evidence of disease" following tests.
"Two years ago I found my lump and my gut instinct told me it wasn't good," the dancer said in a post on Instagram on Saturday.
"I was in Blackpool about to do a full day in the ballroom with all my students.
"That morning in the shower is when my heart sunk. I was also flying off on my long-awaited honeymoon the next day.
"I knew in my gut it wasn't right. The entire time I was away I was checking it every day and googling when Ben wasn't looking.
"I remember one day cycling back to our villa and actually thinking this might be my last holiday. Your mind spirals so quickly.
"So much has changed since then but I am so proud of how far I've come."
She made a return to Strictly in 2024 but had to pull out midway through the 20th-anniversary series due to an injury.
The dancer shared a photo of herself taken on Friday - hours after her 2025 Strictly return was confirmed - and another from when she was undergoing treatment, showing "two very different versions of me".
"I constantly dreamed about getting the old 'me' back and you know what, this year has been everything and so much more, two back-to-back dancing tours - my body feeling stronger and fitter than ever," she said.
"What I have certainly learnt along the way is not to compare myself to others. I have learnt to be kind to myself.
"But what I really want to say and to get across is always trust your gut.
"Trust your instincts, trust your gut and remember you know you better than anyone else."