Articles by Shelley Spadoni

Technology

Strictly star Amy Dowden's 'life changed forever' after terrifying realisation in cancer battle

Amy Dowden ’s life changed forever in May 2023 when, aged just 32, she was diagnosed with breast cancer – a discovery made only a day before flying to the Maldives for her honeymoon with husband Benjamin Jones. The Strictly Come Dancing professional was left “traumatised and devastated” but chose to confront her fear head-on, documenting her treatment to raise awareness and encourage others to check themselves regularly. Her honesty and strength inspired millions, and she has since become one of the UK’s most recognisable advocates for early cancer detection. After celebrating the all-clear in February 2024 , Amy’s mission hasn’t slowed down. Determined to save more lives, she has now joined forces with fellow survivor Gemma Ainger to launch My Breast Friend –a brilliant, totally free app designed to make self-checks simple, stigma-free and routine. The app sends gentle monthly reminders and allows users to privately log any changes. “Checking your boobs, chest or pecs shouldn’t feel scary or clinical,” its creators say, aiming to normalise conversations around breast health. Amy, who knows firsthand how critical early detection can be, says she instantly wanted to get involved. “From my own diagnosis, I know the importance of early detection,” she explains. “It can quite simply save lives.” With one in seven women in the UK expected to be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives, and nearly half admitting they don’t check regularly, My Breast Friend hopes to turn self-exams into an effortless habit - as normal as brushing your teeth in the morning. Opening up about the shock of her own breast cancer diagnosis, Amy - who also has Crohn's Disease - tells us: “I never, ever thought at 32 that I would be diagnosed with breast cancer. If I wasn’t checking myself, I wouldn’t be alive. "The woman I’m working with behind the My Breast Friend app, Gemma - had she been checking her chest, her outcome could have been very different.” The idea began after marketing professional Gemma was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer at 42, after finding a lump, by chance, in the shower. With no symptoms or family history, she admitted she “rarely checked” herself and later reflected that regular self-exams might have caught the disease sooner. Determined to make a difference, Gemma channelled her experience into developing My Breast Friend, to help others detect cancer earlier. Following Amy’s own traumatic diagnosis, the Strictly pro - who was partnered with Tom Skinner this year , who was sadly the first celebrity to leave the series - is on a mission to spread awareness. “Since my own breast cancer diagnosis I want to do everything that I can to raise awareness and get the message out there to help others. I’m so proud to be on the other side of my diagnosis now. “I’m finally feeling like myself again. I’m finally Amy again. I’ve got my hair back, and my energy back, and I feel so happy in my life now. But the blow of having cancer and everything you go through throughout your diagnosis is something that never leaves you. “It has completely changed my life forever. But I want to use the pain that I went through to help others - to prevent them from having to go through the same.” The Strictly Come Dancing star admits that her life was turned completely upside down when she was diagnosed in May 2023, and the journey she went through has changed her forever. Amy explains: “I never thought cancer would happen to me. Cancer unfortunately doesn’t discriminate and sadly more and more people at such a young age are being diagnosed with breast cancer. “When you’re younger, unfortunately, the cancer tends to be a lot more aggressive. So if people from the ages of 18 up start checking themselves early, it will literally just become the norm. "There’s nothing to be scared of when checking. You need to get to know your body and your ‘normal’, and then when something doesn’t feel right you will know then to get it checked right away.” Sharing nuggets of advice and wisdom to anyone else who may be fighting a cancer diagnosis right now, Amy says: “Be kind to yourself. There are so many incredible healthcare professionals out there who will help you and there are so many different charities that are there for you to lean on. “Another important thing to remember is to not hold anything in. You really need to speak to your loved ones about how you’re feeling because you can’t hold in any worrying thoughts or feelings you have.” She adds emotionally: “I can remember when I was in hospital and one of the lovely nurses said to me, ‘Amy, don’t hold it all in.’ She reminded me that it was OK to feel how I was feeling and actually encouraged me to cry, to let it all out. “It was the best thing I could have done. When I cried, I released all these emotions that I was forcing down. I realised in those moments that I didn’t always have to be brave and that it was okay to break down and show some weakness. “Every step you take and every appointment you pass, you have to give yourself a pat on the back because you’ve got through it. Remember all of your little wins. The two sayings that always stuck in my head throughout it all were, ‘This too shall pass,’ and ‘Don’t get bitter, get better.’” Amy admits that sometimes the toll of sharing her cancer journey became heavy, and she wanted to hide away from everyone and everything. But she kept going, in the knowledge that by speaking out, she could potentially save another life. “There were times where I felt as though I just wanted to shut off from the world. I didn’t want to share updates or discuss what I was going through. But at the end of the day, if there’s one positive that would come from all of my oversharing was that hopefully even one person would be more inclined to check themselves. To me, it was just all about that. It was about saving lives. “I thought about mortality a lot. It’s scary. Your mind goes to the craziest of places when you’re in a dark place like that. After my initial diagnosis and when I was waiting to find out what the plan of action was, I thought the worst. The absolute worst. "When you’re in these moments, you’re so upset and you’re so emotional, your mind brings you to those awful places and it stirs up the most awful feelings inside of you. But I’m still here, despite it all.” Download My Breast Friend from all major app stores. For more info please visit https://mybreastfriend.health

Technology

Strictly star Gorka Marquez and fiancée Gemma Atkinson's adorable insight into parenting 'chaos'

After just a short time in their company, it's clear they're very different as people, but work perfectly together. Radio DJ Gemma Atkinson , 40, and pro dancer Gorka Márquez , 35, are an entertaining double act, with Gemma's straight-talking, northern humour and Gorka's quiet, laidback Spanish charm. The couple, who got engaged in 2021, are based in Manchester, but Gorka often travels for work - this year he's regularly in Spain, as a judge on the Spanish version of Strictly . The pair met when Gemma took part in Strictly in 2017. Their relationship was a slow burn, but they fell for each other and are now parents to two children, Mia, six, who was recently diagnosed with epilepsy , and two-year-old Thiago. Elements of navigating their daily lives often get lost in translation (hence the name of their new podcast, Lost In Translation), which makes for some hilarious moments. Here, they open up about working together, their little ones following in their footsteps and the habits that annoy each other... Hi, Gemma and Gorka! Are you glued to Strictly this year? Gemma: Every Saturday. It's the proper countdown to Christmas , for us. It's also a good excuse not have to go out on a Saturday night! Strictly got you two together, didn't it? Gorka: Oh, she really made me work for it, though! Gemma: Nothing good comes easy, as my mum would say. It's always nice to remember how it all started. Since my year on Strictly, I've been to watch the live shows twice, and as soon as I walk into Elstree I get such a warm feeling... Gorka: Where it began, me and you. Gemma: It's lovely. Seeing Aljaž [Škorjanec] and Janette [Manrara] with little Lyra-Rose , Neil Jones has Havana, and Dianne [Buswell] is going to have a little one... Gorka: It's crazy, when I first started on Strictly , Aljaž and Janette were about to get married, Neil joined with me. Dianne, who I also worked with on cruise ships, is about to have a family... Everyone's grown up. We used to go out after a show, now we've got to get home, so the next day we can have breakfast with our babies. Gemma, you almost didn't do Strictly - your life could look very different now... Gemma: Yes! At first, I said no. I was doing radio and it was the first job where I could commute in less than 40 minutes. I was getting to live life how I wanted. About two weeks later, my agent called me and was like, 'Hun, this Strictly thing, can you just think about it?' I was determined it was a no. I was going to Jason Vale's juice retreat and she said do a week there and think about it. So I did. What changed your mind? When I got to my room at the retreat, Oprah' s autobiography was on the side table. I picked it up and it fell open to a page with just one big quote, "If you have a chance to sit it out or dance, I hope you choose to dance." I thought, maybe I'm meant to do this. So I messaged my agent and said yes, I'll do it. Just don't ask me again or I'll change my mind! Wow, a real sliding doors moment then... Gemma: Gorks and I were in the same place at the same time a year earlier, too, but we didn't know it. We were in the Bahamas. I was on holiday and there's a bar, Señor Frog's, that looks out on to the sea. There's a video of me and my friend dancing there, the camera pans around and there's a cruise ship close to shore. Gorka: I was working on that ship, isn't that incredible? Can you tell us about your new podcast? Gemma: From our reality TV show, we had lovely feedback about how normal, mundane tasks and chaotic school runs could turn into something fun and relatable. So Lost In Translation is like an audio version of that. Each week, we each message our producer individually about what's annoyed us about each other and then have a debate about it. You also solve a listener's dilemma each week... Gemma: We do. The first was a listener called Sophie. She'd just moved in with her fella and was giving herself tummy pains as she was scared of doing a poo in the flat! We also have silly games and explore the differences between Spanish and English. How much chaos does that cultural mix bring? Gorka: It happens all the time. I used to say, "I'm wet p****d through," and Gemma would laugh and correct me, "No, Gork, it's I'm p****d wet through." Gemma: It's little things. For me, growing up, it was cheese pie or chippy tea with gravy every Friday. Vinegar on chips. Gorka is absolutely repulsed by this. Gorka: How can you eat a puff pastry pie with cheese?! Gemma: Thiago loves them, too. They're his favourite. Gorka: Gemma doesn't eat red meat, but at Christmas I bring a big Spanish leg of ham home. It's amazing, but Gemma's going, "Get that thing out of the house!" Are the kids learning Spanish? Gemma: Gorka does Spanish reading with Mia. His parents don't speak English, so when we FaceTime, his dad speaks Spanish and I'm there going, "Hola!", trying my hardest. It's different for children. Last time we went to Spain, Gorka's mum looked after the kids, so we could have a day in Madrid. I was worried, but we came back four hours later and they were dancing, laughing... Gorka: Language doesn't matter - they were having the time of their lives. What annoys you about each other? Gorka: I'm a perfectionist, everything has to be in its place, and Gemma's messy. Gemma: I've been folding socks wrong my whole life. I just fold them, done. Gorka likes them next to each other, the bottom to the top, tucked in completely. Do Mia and Thiago show signs of wanting to dance? Gemma: They've got musicality. Mia's obsessed with dancing. Thiago's got a good ear, he sings in tune already. He loves The Greatest Showman and bangs the drum at exactly the right times. Gorka: This morning we were playing music and they were dancing around the kitchen with me, it was so cute. I love those moments. Lost In Translation is available on the Rayo app, Apple,Amazon Music, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts