8D9<IËJ 9@> : N8IE@E>
SIZZLING Amber Dowding, a star of television hit The Only Way Is Essex, is used to posting curvy bikini selfies.
But she was left devastated when she discovered that her own mum had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 23-year-old admits the shock of hearing that 49-year-old Maria had been struck down with the disease hit her hard.
She says: “Hearing the word cancer, I immediately thought: ‘I’m going to lose my mum’.”
Now, to mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Amber has revealed to the Daily Star how the news has turned her family upside down and how it has made her change her own health routine.
Orange
was so strong and stayed positive.” Maria transformed her diet, cutting out meat and dairy as well as adding turmeric to meals. She also endured intense chemotherapy and radiotherapy sessions.
Thankfully these were so successful that surgeons had only to remove some lymph nodes rather than perform a full mastectomy.
Amber says: “Fortunately the BREAKFAST: LUNCH: DINNER: GUILTY PLEASURE: TOP TIPPLE:
She was coming back from a holiday with her boyfriend and co-star Chris Clark last August when she spoke to her mum on the phone.
Amber recalls: “She had found a lump in her left breast when getting ready for bed one evening.
“A bit unusually for breast cancer, it hurt too.”
Doctors ordered a mammogram, ultrasound and a biopsy and found a tumour the size of an orange.
They told her the breast cancer was aggressive – it was already at stage three.
Amber says: “I was in bits but mum chemo worked and luckily she was able to keep both her breasts. Amazingly, she is now in remission.
“As well as my mum, a lot of her friends and family have been affected by breast cancer.
“It’s scary. It makes you so aware of the dangers when it happens to some close to you.
“My mum, sister and I have since been tested for the faulty BRCA2 gene which increases your chances of developing breast cancer but we don’t have it.”
But Amber’s ordeal has changed her own bathroom habits.
She explains: “Like most women I did used to check my breasts for lumps occasionally.
“But now I make sure I feel my boobs a lot more.”
When it comes to her fitness regime Amber admits she’s let the gym slip recently, but usually goes two or three times a week for sessions with her personal trainer, doing a few heavy weights at low reps.
She adds: “I’m not a big fan of cardio, though I do like swimming, I find it really therapeutic. I’m not unhappy with my body shape at the moment. I’m about the weight I think I should be.”
Checked
But the cancer scare has made Amber less likely to eat red meat and dairy products. And after she had talked about her mum’s illness on Towie, she revealed: “A girl sent me a Twitter message, saying she checked her boobs and had found a cancerous lump, which was amazing.” Now she advises other women: “Make sure you check yourself every couple of months. “If you do feel something unusual, remember it’s not necessarily cancer, it might be just a cyst or something. “But my motto now is: If in doubt, check it out!”
To mark the 25th anniversary of the pink ribbon, hold a Big Pink party, bake sale or night in for Breast Cancer Care.
Get your free Big Pink kit, including a pink ribbon at breastcancercare. org.uk/October