Strictly Come Dancing’s Amy Dowden has opened up about her full mastectomy and subsequent reconstruction as following her breast cancer diagnosis.
The professional dancer found out in May that she had stage three cancer and announced earlier this month that she had an operation to remove two tumours and her right breast.
Speaking in a video shared on her Instagram Story, Amy opened up about her three-hour surgery, including details of her unexpected reconstruction.
Addressing her 414,000 followers, she shared: “I had a full mastectomy so all of the breast tissue has gone, and I had no choice because I think you can only have a lump if there’s a clear margin sweep, but unfortunately, I had more than one tumour. I had no option but to remove the whole breast.”
Amy revealed that doctors told her it would be likely that she would have to have an expander fitted.
According to Cancer Center, tissue expanders are like a breast implants but have a valve that may be used to fill it with sterile water.
They are used to increase the amount of tissue doctors have to work with when they’re recreating or implanting a breast.
She continued: “I was told that [having an expander fitted] would probably be the case because they wouldn’t be able to stretch the skin as it’s obviously really thin, but they said if they could, they would put the implant in.
“And I woke up and they’ve managed to put the implant in, so I have had reconstruction.”
Amy told her followers that she knew she wanted reconstruction, but at the time of her surgery all she could think about was having the cancer “taken out”.
She concluded the video by thanking her fans for all their supportive messages.
“You can see I’m doing really, really well,’ Amy continued. “I still don’t know what’s next, so just keeping my fingers crossed on that.”
Earlier this month, Amy, who joined the BBC celebrity competition show in 2017, said that her surgery “went well” and gave a “big thank you” to her surgeons and nurses who had been “utterly amazing”.
“(I’m) very sore but focusing on the positives, they said the surgery went well! Thanks for all the support and messages,” she said.
She also shared an Instagram picture showing her in a hospital bed saying she was “ready for this fight and more determined than ever to get back on the dance floor”.