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Caerphilly’s Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden has revealed she is undergoing chemotherapy.

Amy, 32, first announced she had breast cancer in May, during an interview with Hello! magazine.

In July, she revealed a second cancer diagnosis following a mastectomy, where more tumours were found.

Posting on Instagram, Amy said: “I’ve decided I want to share my chemo journey to help raise awareness, hopefully get others checking and for understanding what we go through.

“Port fitted. Wasn’t looking forward to it. Wasn’t easy.

“Feeling tender, bruised and sore but the port will help massively over the next few weeks and allow me to dance when I feel well enough.

“A port sits under the skin and the tube goes along my vein to the heart giving safe access for chemo.”

The dancer will not be appearing in this year’s Strictly Come Dancing.

How to check for breast cancer

When she was 19, Amy was diagnosed with Crohn’s – a lifelong condition affecting the digestive system.

Throughout childhood, Amy experienced bouts of illness which caused her to be in and out of hospital. Ten years after her diagnosis, Amy began to speak publicly about the condition, having kept it quiet out of fear of discrimination and missing out on job opportunities.

In 2020, she starred in the BAFTA Cymru-winning documentary Crohn’s and Me, which showed the realities of living with the condition, which includes symptoms such as extreme abdominal pain, vomiting, exhaustion and diarrhoea.

Amy is also an ambassador for Crohn’s and Colitis UK.The NHS’ Breast Cancer Now helpline can be reached on 0345 077 1893.