Strictly's Amy Dowden breaks down as she makes life-changing decision in baby admission

Amy Dowden speaks about a possibly Strictly return

Amy Dowden broke down in tears during her new BBC documentary as she was forced to make a life-changing decision about her future. After the Strictly Come Dancing pro was diagnosed with breast cancer, she immediately underwent a mastectomy before going through chemotherapy treatment.

In 2023, Amy was living her dream of being a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, recently marrying the love of her life and hoping one day to start a family of her own.

But after discovering a lump in her breast the night before her honeymoon, every facet of Amy’s world was torn apart when tests later revealed she had breast cancer at only 32 years old.

Six days after her diagnosis, Amy – from Caerphilly, south Wales - made the brave decision to allow cameras to follow her experiences whatever may unfold in the coming months.

At first, Amy tried to save her hair by having a cold cap, but after it made her feel sick and gave her headaches, she decided to have the chemo by itself - and as a result, she lost her hair. However, despite dealing with having cancer and going through treatment, Amy was hit with another blow when she was told by doctors that chemo would affect her fertility.

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Strictly's Amy Dowden tried to save her hair by using a cold cap during treatment (Image: BBC)

Before her diagnosis, Amy admitted she and her husband were ready to start a family - and so being told that the treatment would affect her chances of having children - Amy had a difficult decision to make.

Before her chemo started, Amy had a small window to have fertility treatment and would have to undergo another operation to freeze her eggs.

During the documentary titled, Amy Dowden: Fight of My Life, Amy struggled to hold back the tears as she discussed her options.

Recalling the conversation with her doctor, Amy shared: "I just said, 'What about starting a family as this is something Ben and I were about to begin' and he said to me, 'Because chemo destroys your eggs, there's a possibility it might cause fertility issues'."

Strictly's Amy Dowden had fertility treatment before her chemo started (Image: BBC)

Amy struggled to hold back the tears as she went on: "And he said if I need chemo then I'll need to look at fertility treatment to save my eggs, so that was a big blow then."

As she wiped away tears, the dancer added: "That's two big blows, you have got the blow of cancer and then the fertility issue."

Amy's husband later said to the camera: "Amy really wants children and she was actually ready for them now. Obviously, I want to have kids as well so it is difficult."

Amy and Ben went to visit a doctor to discuss what options she had, which is when she had to make the tough decision about whether she wanted fertility treatment to save her eggs.

The dance pro decided to go ahead with the procedure before she started her chemo, and she also had to have daily injections to help grow the follicles inside her ovaries.

And after waiting a week for the results, Amy cried happy tears when she was told that the procedure was successful and they managed to freeze five of her eggs.

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Strictly's Amy Dowden remained positive throughout her entire cancer journey (Image: BBC) window.topArticlesScript="https://cdn.images.express.co.uk/js/dist/article-top-articles20240820.min.js"

Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk and other press, Amy, who will be returning to Strictly this year, shared an update on her fertility journey.

She emotionally shared: "I only finished chemo in November so my body is still on quite a bit recovery journey. Ideally, I'd still need to have my monthly injections for five years, so I have been put into menopause, but my oncologist with review it in a few years.

"But obviously, when you're pregnant, more hormones are produced, meaning that the risk of the cancer returning is at a higher risk."

She added: "It is not something that the oncologist or anyone would recommend right now."

Amy Dowden: Fight of My Life airs on Monday at 8pm on BBC One.

Strictly's Amy Dowden breaks down as she makes life-changing decision in baby admission

Strictly's Amy Dowden breaks down as she makes life-changing decision in baby admission

Strictly's Amy Dowden breaks down as she makes life-changing decision in baby admission

Strictly's Amy Dowden breaks down as she makes life-changing decision in baby admission

Strictly's Amy Dowden breaks down as she makes life-changing decision in baby admission