Amy Dowden, a professional dancer on Strictly Come Dancing, celebrated her 36th birthday on Monday, saying that every birthday feels like "a privilege" three years on from her breast cancer diagnosis.
Dowden was diagnosed with cancer in May 2023 and underwent treatment that included a mastectomy, chemotherapy and fertility treatment. She also nearly died of sepsis before undergoing a second surgery in November last year. She was given the all-clear for the disease in February 2024 and has since returned to Strictly Come Dancing.
On Instagram, Dowden shared a clip of a friend lighting a candle in her mouth before placing it on her birthday cake. She then blew out the candle while holding a glass of Aperol Spritz and smiling at the camera.
"Another birthday, and I'll always say that every birthday is a privilege," she wrote alongside the post. "Feeling so grateful after the most beautiful weekend spent with my loved ones, making memories and feeling very lucky to be surrounded by so much love."
"And now, off to spend my birthday doing what I love most, dancing with my Strictly family! Couldn't think of a better way to celebrate," she added. "And a very big HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my beautiful twin sister! So lucky to share this special day with you. Feeling very grateful, very loved and very blessed."
Wish to become a mother
Earlier this year, Dowden spoke about her desire to have children after chemotherapy forced her into medically induced menopause. She said becoming a mother remains "a big dark cloud" hanging over her.
Dowden has been married to fellow dancer Ben Jones since 2022, and the couple have said they have five frozen embryos.
"Obviously, there is a big, dark cloud over me. Will I become a mother? I've wanted to be a mummy since I was a little girl," Dowden told The Mirror. "I was one of those girls who would always have a little baby Annabelle. And I have two gorgeous nephews, who I love to pieces. But we will cross that bridge when it comes to it and I will explore every option going."
Looking back at her 'lowest' point
In December, Dowden reflected on her cancer battle in an Instagram post comparing what she called the lowest point of her life with her joyous present. She shared an image from two years earlier showing her in a hospital bed with her hair lost and a cannula in her hand, alongside a picture of herself in good health.
She wrote that the two photos were taken exactly two years apart and that seeing them made her "so very proud." Dowden said the earlier picture was taken after she was rushed to hospital by ambulance, where she learned she had another blood clot on her lung as well as the after-effects of eight rounds of chemotherapy.
She recalled telling her husband and a close friend, as she got into the ambulance, that cancer had taken her and that she would never dance again, saying she was at "the lowest point I'd ever been." Her foot was also broken at the time, she said, and she could not see how she would ever "get the old Amy back."
The second photo, she wrote, was taken two years later, three weeks after another mastectomy and after a year that included two dancing tours and Strictly. She said she wanted to show that recovery is "POSSIBLE," adding that she wished she had rewarded herself more along the way. Dowden credited her husband Ben and fellow Strictly star Carlos Gu with making sure cancer did not take her dancing shoes away, writing: "Cancer you didn't take and will not take who I am!"
Breast cancer facts
Breast cancer is one of the most common cancers in the world, affecting more than two million women a year. In the UK there are more than 55,000 new cases annually and the disease claims 11,500 lives a year. In the US, it strikes 266,000 people a year and kills 40,000.
