28 November 2023 , 00:01
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Amy Dowden has told how navigating breast cancer has brought her even closer to her husband Ben Jones.
The couple only tied the knot last year, but have been together for more than a decade. He has already helped the Strictly Come Dancing star deal with Crohn’s disease, which she was diagnosed with aged 19, and has been a rock during her cancer treatment.
Amy, 33, says his unswerving support means she knows their love is for keeps. “He’s been through so much with me with my Crohn’s, but I guess nothing will ever break us now,” she said. “If I mention something once, he’ll buy it, or if it’s a food I want, he’s cooking it.”
Fans have been delighted to see Amy visiting the Strictly studio in Hertfordshire whenever she has felt well enough during the current series. Now the dancer, who finished her chemotherapy this month, has said those visits – and Ben’s support – are what have helped her through.
Amy Dowden has opened up about her health in a new interview (Mark Cant/Women’s Health)
The Strictly Come Dancing star says: 'I don't want looks of sympathy' (Mark Cant/Women’s Health)“Production have gone above and beyond to make me part of the series,” she told the December issue of Women's Health UK, which is on sale now. “To have no part in it would have been soul-destroying.”
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Amy admits she still struggles to accept she has faced cancer so young, on top of already managing a chronic illness. “I always say, I never asked for this. I’ve always worked so hard, I’ve always been a good person, looked after myself, exercised well, haven’t smoked, I do get angry,” she said. “It took me a long time to accept Crohn’s. Until I’m back dancing and back to my normal self, I don’t think I will accept it.”
Amy with husband Ben (Rowan Griffiths / Daily Mirror)But she is not seeking pity from others. “I just want to be treated as normal,” Amy said. “When I’m walking outside and I’ve got my headscarf on, I don’t want looks of sympathy. Just ask how I am – I will answer you.”
The Welsh dancer, who runs a dance school with Ben in the West Midlands, knew she wanted to help others, which was why she chose not to wear a wig. “I imagined teenagers being able to go to school and being able to embrace [not having hair] or go swimming and be like, ‘I’m like Amy who’s off Strictly.’ That gave me the confidence to go, ‘Yeah, let’s do this.’”
As well as her Strictly pals and her husband, Amy’s also found invaluable support from other women who are being treated for breast cancer. “It’s a club you’d never wish to be in, but when you’re in it, it’s the most loyal club you could ever be part of,” she sighed. “I can speak to my fellow pink sisters, instantly they get it.”
- The full Amy Dowden interview can be read in the December issue of Women’s Health UK, on sale now