Focusing on Positivity After Cancer
- “Strictly Come Dancing” star Amy Dowden finished chemotherapy for stage 3 breast cancer last year. She also underwent a mastectomy and was informed she had “no evidence of disease” in February 2024. Now she’s hoping to share her motto: “Don’t get bitter, get better,” as she preps for an upcoming tour.
- The 34-year-old professional ballroom and Latin American dancer’s breast cancer journey began in April 2023, when she discovered the “first lump” just before she was set to go on a honeymoon with her husband.
- When coping with something as life-changing as cancer, professionals recommend making time to focus on mental health, too. Positive psychology can help — it’s a different approach to mental well-being that focuses on a person’s strengths rather than illness and standard treatment.
- A part of positive psychology involves finding what’s important to a patient, or what keeps them engaged, and harnessing those good feelings.”Positive emotions have unique benefits above and beyond managing negative emotions,” Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman tells SurvivorNet.
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Read More“Dancing this year on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ meant everything. Since those words ‘sorry Amy, you’ve got cancer,’ my goal was to get back on Strictly, back on the dance floor. Then to have it taken away from me with a foot injury was just devastating.”
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Dowden, who is overjoyed to be prepping for her upcoming tour, which will open in March, also noted that she hopes her story will help her students at the dance studio she owns to “always stay true to yourself and don’t give up.”
Most importantly, she expressed the importance of having goals to strive for in life.
She explained, “I say that to anybody who’s got a new diagnosis. Whether it’s working towards a holiday, returning to work, a visit in some way or whatever it is — have that little goal to really push yourself.
“I used to tick everything off — every chemo, tick; every blood test appointment, tick; every oncologist [and] rescan … everything was a little tick along the way.”
She ultimately hopes to influence everyone with her “don’t get bitter, get better” motto.
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As for how excited Dowden is for her upcoming tour, she told BBC Breakfast, “During chemo, you feel so ill, so rotten and actually, only in the last few weeks I’ve felt like I’ve really got my energy back now.
“Whereas throughout the year last year, I was constantly feeling stronger and better, only in the last few weeks have I realized, yeah, actually I feel like back to the old Amy.”
She concluded, “Now I can push this on stage with my best friend Carlos, who was there throughout all of my cancer diagnosis.”
Amy Dowden’s Cancer Journey
Dowden’s breast cancer journey began in April 2023 when she discovered the “first lump” just before she was set to go on a honeymoon with her husband.
“I was originally going to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy, and hormone treatment,” Dowden explained during a Coppafeel Instagram chat.
“Then, after my MRI, they found another tumor so then it changed into a mastectomy, and then, after my mastectomy, unfortunately, they found even more tumors,” Dowden added, leading to a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis. Stage 3 means the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
Dowden was told she needed to undergo chemotherapy to begin cancer treatment which made her “scared,” but she bravely moved forward with treatment. Her oncologist reassured her, “With chemo you’ve got a really good chance of a cure.”
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Since she had to focus on her health, Dowden didn’t participate in last season’s “Strictly Dancing” series. Despite not being able to dance in person, she remained in contact with her team. She has since returned to the show for the 2024 season and has been impressing her fans as she performed with British TV presenter and singer JB Gill.
Dowden’s return to the show came after the professional dancer announced she finished up chemotherapy treatment in an emotional video shared on Instagram.
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She captioned her heartwarming post, featuring footage of the dancer being greeting by hospital staffers and loved ones before walking over to the iconic bell, “I rang the bell and I’m so thankful I got too! My toughest journey yet!
“These past few months I look back and think how did my body get through this both physically and mentally. From the words I’m so sorry Amy, it’s cancer and what’s your fertility plans. To having a mastectomy, two weeks later hormone daily injections for egg retrieval, a little Crohns flare up and then on to chemo plus shutting down my ovaries on the same day which sadly lead to sepsis, blood clots, losing my hair, my eyebrows, lashes (I have a few hanging in there) and three toe nails. But also it’s taken away my love of life these past few months and of course my DANCING!”
The video clip of Dowden, showing the realty star wearing a black skirt and white shirt with the words “Go Grab Life” printed on it, was accompanied by Whitney Houston’s powerful song, “I Didn’t Know My Own Strength.”
The Power of Positive Psychology
Positive psychology is an approach to mental wellbeing that focuses more on a person’s strengths and how they can help themselves rather than just trying to curb individual symptoms and/or diagnose a disorder. It can be a massive help for people dealing with the mental anguish of going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment, like Dowden.
“It is a fundamentally sort of different way of thinking about patients, thinking about their experience,” Dr. Samantha Boardman, a New York-based psychiatrist and author, previously told SurvivorNet.
“It’s not just focusing on what’s the matter. It’s also asking them, what matters to you?”
Dr. Boardman noted that positive psychology is a reimagined approach to dealing with mental struggles. “Making people feel less bad is not the same as making them feel good,” she said, referring to how this new approach encourages people to try to find happiness rather than just try to stop sadness. This approach can be massively beneficial to people who are dealing with an illness like cancer, because it focuses on finding those great parts of life.
Managing Your Mental Health in the Face of a Health Challenge or Major Life Change
It’s only natural for health challenges to have some sort of effect on one’s mental health. Although Dowden appears to be coping well the challenges a breast cancer diagnosis has brought her, it’s important to note that the diagnosis of a cancer or disease or some external stressor can offset your mental health in ways you don’t expect.
The National Institute of Mental Health advises people to seek professional help if experiencing severe or distressing symptoms that have lasted two weeks or more, such as:
- Trouble sleeping
- Changes in appetite
- Struggling to leave bed in the morning because of mood
- Trouble concentrating
- Loss of interest in things you usually enjoy
- Inability to perform normal daily functions and responsibilities
How to Be Realistically Optimistic: Coping With Mental Health Long-Term
Equally as important is recognizing the value of self-care. Some basic tips to take better care of yourself and improve mental health, beyond seeking professional help when necessary, include:
- Regularly exercising
- Eating healthy, regular meals
- Staying hydrated
- Prioritizing sleep
- Exploring relaxation programs or techniques
- Setting goals/priorities
- Staying positive
- Connecting with others
Psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin also shared some simple tips to help you maintain good mental health and reduce stress amid adversity.
When it comes to dealing with anxiety, Dr. Strongin says it’s important to have a healthy relationship with your anxiety and get to know it rather than fear it, avoid it, or push it away.
Dr. Strongin explained, “By learning more about your anxious thoughts and tendencies, one can begin to answer their anxious thoughts even in moments when there aren’t any answers. For cancer patients, the worry thoughts tend to be, ‘Will I survive?’
“It’s important to let those thoughts come in and really be able to tolerate them before answering them. This is a very powerful coping skill.”
Dr. Strongin suggests medications to help with anxiety and depression if other approaches are not as effective. She also urges cancer warriors to explore telemedicine.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are coping with feelings of anxiety and depression, consider asking your doctor the following questions:
- Are there interventions beyond medication for my depressed or anxious feelings?
- How can I go about finding and nourishing these positive emotions?
- What can I do if I’m struggling to maintain a sense of positivity?
- What lifestyle factors can I adjust to feel better mentally?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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