Amy Dowden was horrifically branded a ‘narcissist and an attention seeker’ by vicious trolls after being diagnosed with breast cancer.
The Strictly Come Dancing star, 34, has revealed she was bombarded with hurtful messages after she went public with her health diagnosis last year.
She’s now calling for those involved in online abuse to receive harsher punishments.
Speaking in her her new BBC documentary, she explains: ‘I wish these people realised what they are doing. I wish they could see the effect it does have.
‘It’s like putting a nail in a piece of wood. You take the nail out and the wood is scarred forever. It’s never the same. And making those nasty comments is doing exactly that.
‘I wouldn’t want anyone else to receive the messages I did.’
In quotes obtained by The Mirror, she adds: ‘Sometimes I was up at 2am and I couldn’t sleep because the steroids were keeping me up.
‘I was so low and then receiving those messages was heartbreaking. I just feel like it’s not spoken about.’
She goes on: ‘When someone is bullying someone online and they take their own life, it’s kind of like manslaughter. Is there going to be punishment to stop people doing it? It’s awful.’
Amy – whose cancer was diagnosed as stage two – adds of her own abuse: ‘They said I was a narcissist and an attention seeker. It was: “It’s not even stage 4.”
‘They said I should hide away and get on with it on my own and asked why I felt the need to dance around in my garden when I shaved my head.
‘Well, I was with my friends and we were trying to make the best of the situation.’
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Amy was diagnosed with breast cancer in May 2023, with the Strictly professional detailing the trials and tribulations of her treatment plan throughout last year.
In February, the dancer – who returns to Strictly this year – announced she had been told there was ‘no evidence of disease’ following months of chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.
She celebrated at the time: ‘No evidence of disease! Words I dreamed of! My biggest accomplishment yet!
‘I won’t be getting the all-clear for 5 years especially with a hormone fed cancer. But it was all worth it. Words I never thought I’d hear at one point.
‘So grateful for all the care I received and continue to have. To my family and friends who supported me unconditionally and to you guys! Thank you!’
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Strictly Amy: Cancer and Me airs on BBC One and iPlayer on Monday at 8pm.
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