BBC Strictly Come Dancing's Shirley Ballas supported by Amy Dowden as she shares worrying health news
Shirley Ballas has been supported by Amy Dowden as she shared some worrying health news with fans. The Strictly Come Dancing judge shared a photo of herself to social media after undergoing a biopsy following a routine mammogram.
As fans will know, Amy was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May last year after she found a lump in her breast in April, the day before going to the Maldives on honeymoon with her husband, fellow professional dancer Ben Jones.
Amy announced the news after undergoing a mastectomy and later bravely documented going through chemotherapy treatment. But the course of treatment wasn't without its setbacks as the dancer recently shared how she was told she had come close to organ failure after she developed an infection following her first round of chemo.
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While she was told the positive news that there was no evidence of disease, Amy will not receive the “all clear” for five years due to her type of cancer. She has since been passionate in raising awareness for breast cancer and encouraging her fans and followers to check their breasts.
So Shirley's post on Wednesday evening (April 24) will have struck a chord. Taking to her Instagram Story, the 63-year-old shared a picture in which she appeared to be showing a bandage on her chest.
She explained: "Urging all women do not miss your mammogram. I went for mine. Ended up going for a second one and a biopsy. Local anesthetic biopsy done. Now waiting for results..."
It is then when she included Amy as she added: "@Amy_Dowden you ran through my mind the importance of not putting it off. Go and get tested, plus self-breast check regularly xx." Amy then responded: "Always here for you! Important message here all from @shirleyballas."
Amy recently reflected on the past 12 months as she told BBC Breakfast: "I can’t believe it’s a year since I found the lump. But I’m just so grateful in the year for the treatment I’ve had, the NHS, and all the charities, everybody that’s helped me to be still here today."
She added: "I was actually at the oncology unit yesterday, having my monthly injection, which I will need for five years. But I’m just so grateful to get another shot at life. but I never thought in a million years at 32, that I’d be diagnosed with breast cancer. I was living my life to the full on Strictly Come Dancing, I’d just got married, but cancer doesn’t discriminate."
Amy is now supporting The Big Help Out, a campaign to showcase how volunteering benefits both communities and the people who take part, and she said: "Unfortunately one in two of us in our lifetime is diagnosed with cancer but charities like Cancer Research UK, Macmillan Cancer Support, Young Lives Vs Cancer, Breast Cancer Now, they wouldn’t exist if it wasn’t for volunteers.
"And volunteers are the backbone, the heartbeat to all these charities that help fund research, the reason why I’m still alive today, to help support not just those going through it, but their families as well. But as a volunteer you get so much pride as well, it helps your mental health, there’s so many benefits to it."