At the age of 32, the talented professional dancer made the brave announcement last month that she had undergone a mastectomy due to being diagnosed with stage three breast cancer.
Since then, the Caerphilly-born dancer has received additional distressing news that she has another type of cancer, which shattered her hopes of participating in this year’s season of Strictly.
Recently, she shared a heartwarming picture with some of the professional dancers from the current cast, including Giovanni Pernice, Dianne Buswell, Gorka Marquez, and Karen Hauer.
With fondness, Dowden, a finalist in the BBC celebrity competition four years ago alongside presenter Karim Zeroual, captioned the photo: “I surprised the gang! Just what I needed! Seeing the @bbcstrictly family! It’s going to be an amazing series, and I can’t wait to watch you all shine. I’ll be with you all when I can!”
She also included hashtags like “Strictly family,” “just what I needed,” and “keep dancing.”
Dowden, who tied the knot with her fellow professional dancer Ben Jones in July 2022, revealed to Hello! magazine that she discovered a lump in her breast the day before her delayed honeymoon.
During an Instagram video with breast cancer awareness charity CoppaFeel!, Dowden disclosed her second cancer diagnosis last Friday.
She stated, “Originally, I was planning to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy, and hormone treatment. However, after my MRI, the doctors discovered another tumor, which led to a mastectomy. Unfortunately, even after the mastectomy, they found more tumors and a different type of cancer than expected.”
Despite the challenges, she asserted, “They can take away my boob, but they can’t take away my dancing. While I’m saddened that I won’t be able to dance with a celebrity on Strictly this year, I am grateful for the incredible support from the BBC and the entire Strictly family. There are numerous ways for me to stay involved in the show, and I remain positive and hopeful.”
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