Amy Dowden explains how Crohn's could have affected her cancer treatment
Watch: Amy Dowden explains how having Crohn's affected her cancer treatment
Amy Dowden has spoken out about how having Crohn’s could have affected and delayed her cancer treatment, as she continues to campaign for further awareness around the disease.
Dowden, who has been living with Crohn’s since she was 11 years old, said during an appearance on Lorraine that flare-ups from the chronic condition would have meant having to delay surgery or chemotherapy. Flare-ups can be triggered by stress, which Dowden said she tried to keep at a minimum.
The 34-year-old Strictly star was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer in May 2023, the day before she went on honeymoon. She has since undergone a mastectomy and chemotherapy and in February, she was told she had "no evidence of disease".
Speaking on Lorraine on Friday 6 December, Dowden said: "If I was to have a flare-up before my surgery, it would have delayed surgery. During chemotherapy, if I had a flare-up, it would have delayed my next chemo. So we did all we could to keep the stress down, I’m on a very basic diet."
She added: "I did have a flare-up after I was diagnosed, I’m sure it was the stress of finding out."
Dowden, whose appearance on Lorraine came amid Crohn’s and Colitis Awareness Week this week, also said that people "forgot" she had Crohn’s when she received her cancer diagnosis.
She said: "Since I was diagnosed with cancer, I think people forgot about my Crohn’s, and I would be like, 'Hang on, this is a condition I live with forever'.
"They’ll ask me about the cancer and I’ll say, 'Well actually, my Crohn’s is bad at the moment'.
"It’s trying to get these subjects, these conditions out there to help spread the message, help get as much research as we can into it."
In 2020, Dowden released a BBC documentary titled Strictly Amy: Crohn’s and Me, in which she discussed how the chronic autoimmune disease affected her life and career as a professional dancer.
She previously said she did not reveal her condition when she joined Strictly because she "didn’t want to be known as 'Amy with Crohn’s'", but later decided she wanted to raise awareness and campaign for further research around the condition.
In early 2024, Dowden was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the King’s Birthday Honours for her services to fundraising and raising awareness of Crohn’s. She is an advocate and ambassador for the charity Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
She told PA Media: "I accept [the honour] on behalf of all those who live with Crohn’s disease and will continue campaigning to raise awareness for and research into this terrible chronic illness."
Crohn's disease is a lifelong condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed and can result in symptoms such as diarrhoea, stomach aches and cramps, blood in your poo, fatigue, and weight loss.
Many sufferers also complain of debilitating pain as a result of the condition. Dowden shared in a previous Instagram post discussing the illness that she would sometimes have such serious stomach pains that she would pass out.
She also told the BBC Access All podcast in 2023 that potential dance partners saw her as a "risk" to work with because of the condition.
"I'd go for a try-out and then as soon as my dance teacher would say 'you need to tell them about your Crohn's,' I wouldn't hear back from them," she said.
"I had so many rejections because of my Crohn's. If a producer wants to take you on tour, [they question] what happens to them and their insurance when I'm poorly? You're seen as a risk."
Read more about gut health:
How inflammatory bowel disease impacts everyday life (Yahoo Life UK, 5-min read)
I quit work after Crohn's left me bedridden and unable to control my bowels (Yahoo Life UK, 9-min read)
Inflammatory bowel disease: 'Massive step forwards' as major cause of IBD discovered (Sky News, 2-min read)
