Strictly star Amy Dowden has revealed her battle with a life-threatening infection after having treatment for cancer.
The professional dancer was diagnosed with breast cancer in May. After having a mastectomy, specialists found more tumours, meaning Amy needs to continue with treatment. But after her first round of chemotherapy, she contracted sepsis and was rushed to hospital.
Amy first suspected there was something wrong two days after she had chemotherapy on August 3. She had been feeling sick and thought it was just a reaction to her chemo. But when she recorded a high temperature of 37.7, she didn’t realise anything over 37.5 is dangerous for a chemo patient.
When Amy Dowden realised she was unwell
Speaking to Hello! magazine, she said she had been on a walk. But when she got back, she started to feel “not quite right”. Her condition deteriorated and she suddenly felt very ill. After telling her mum she had pain in the chest, Amy’s parents rang the chemo team, who said to call an ambulance straight away.
When West Midlands Ambulance Service paramedics assessed her, they told a reluctant Amy to go to hospital.
She told the magazine: “I didn’t want to go into hospital; at the time I didn’t realise how ill I was. I knew it was a Saturday night, so A&E would probably be crowded, and it was dangerous being around people as it’s more likely you’ll pick up an infection. On chemo, you don’t have your white blood cells to fight infection.”
It was later discovered that Amy had the infection before she started chemo. It was then confirmed she had sepsis.
Amy was then treated by the Intensive Care Unit team, who discovered her blood pressure was dangerously low. But after starting a course of new antibiotics, Amy began to respond to treatment. Miraculously, by 6pm on the Sunday evening, she had started to improve.
Amy spent her birthday on August 10 in hospital after another temperature spike, but she’s now at home recovering.
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