Professional dancer Amy Dowden has revealed that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The Strictly Come Dancing star, 32, said she received the diagnosis “last week” and described it as “another hurdle” in her life. Speaking to Hello!magazine, Dowden said: “I’ve been through quite a lot in my life and this is another hurdle. “But if I’m positive and strong, I’ve got a really good chance of getting back out on the dance floor as soon as possible.” Dowden also suffers from Crohn’s disease, a lifelong condition where parts of the digestive system become inflamed. She campaigns for awareness around Crohn’s and released a BBC documentary Strictly Amy: Crohn’s and Me about living with the disease in 2020. She pointed towards her work around raising awareness of Crohn’s and said she hopes to “do the same” with breast cancer. “If I can try to turn this negative into a positive, it’s going to help me get through this,” she added. The dancer, who married her partner Ben Jones in South Wales last July, continued: “You just don’t ever think it’s going to happen to you. I hadn’t thought it was possible to get breast cancer at my age.” She revealed that her mother has also had breast cancer in the past, but she was diagnosed in her fifties. According to Cancer Research UK, there are around 55,900 new breast cancer cases in the country every year, with around 5,000 women under the age of 45 diagnosed. Around eight in 10 (80.6 per cent) of women in England who are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 44 survive breast cancer for 10 years or more, data from the organisation shows. Dowden said she only began making a “conscious effort” to check her breasts for signs of cancer after taking part in CoppaTrek! With Gi, a fundraising walk led by blogger and podcaster Giovanna Fletcher for breast health charity CoppaFeel! She credited the charity with “potentially [saving] my life”, adding: “I don’t know how long this lump could have been there before I would have noticed and done something about it.” The dancer added that she hoped speaking about her diagnosis “might end up saving some other people’s lives” if she prompts them to check their breasts. She first found a “hard lump” in her right breast in April, a day before she and Ben were due to fly to the Maldives for a delayed honeymoon. Dowden said she was “in shock” and initially thought the lump could have been “period-related” or something else, but decided to “keep an eye on it”. After returning from holiday, Dowden said she realised the lump “felt so much bigger” while preparing to do a dance show with her husband and decided it was time to see her GP. She was sent for an emergency referral. Dowden’s doctors believe the cancer was discovered early, but she is still awaiting more information before getting a full treatment plan, which “will definitely include surgery”, she said. “I don’t know what stage the cancer is yet, until I have an MRI scan and a biopsy on a second lump they have found in the same breast,” she explained. “Once they’ve got that, they can give me a full prognosis.” Posting on Instagram after her interview was published this morning (Wednesday 24 May), Dowden told her followers: “Hey all, I’ve got some news that isn’t easy to share. I’ve recently been diagnosed with breast cancer but I’m determined to get back on that dance floor before you know it. Welsh love Amy.” Read More Breast cancer symptoms you should look out for Start mammograms at 40, not 50, a US health panel recommends Angelina Jolie shares tribute to late mum and urges women with family cancer history to get checked

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By Joseph Ax The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule by the end of June on whether

Helen Flanagan admits she’s “no superwoman”, and isn’t saying being a single parent is easy. But despite “running around like a blue-arsed fly” as she puts it, the former Coronation Street actress, who split from her footballer fiancé Scott Sinclair last summer, says her new single family life is working really well. “I co-parent with my ex-fiancé Scott – we’ve got three children together, and we were together for 13 years,” explains Flanagan, 32, who has just appeared on I’m A Celebrity… South Africa. “My friends help me with the children, because I do work nearly every day. I have a friend and we’re a girl gang together – I’m not superwoman! So that works nicely at home. “Scott’s living with his mum at the moment in Bristol, and my children are really close to their nana, so it works really well. My kids just have a really happy environment, with me and my friend at home, and then they have a really nice happy environment with their dad and their nana.” Flanagan, who lives in Manchester, says she has the children – Matilda, eight, Delilah, five, and two-year-old Charlie – “the majority of the time”, as their dad’s away playing football for Bristol Rovers a lot. “So it kind of can’t be helped, really,” she says. “But his mum is absolutely fantastic, we get on very, very well. She’s known me since I was 19, so I’m close with his mum, and she helps me a lot with the children.” The actress admits that although she misses her “babies” when they’re with their dad and nana, she makes the most of her child-free time. “I had my children not young, but young-ish – I had Matilda when I was 24 – and I just feel like I spent all my 20s being pregnant and breastfeeding at home,” Flanagan reflects. “So it’s kind of nice sometimes to have that time, because I know they’re in the best hands with Scott’s mum, and it’s lovely that I can spend some time with my friends and concentrate on my work and have some fun. So it’s nice, it works well. “Of course I miss them, they’re my babies, but I know they’re really, really happy with their nana and their dad, so I don’t have to worry. I do feel like the happier you are as a mum, the better it is for your child.” Most of Flanagan’s time these days is spent either working or looking after the kids – and deflecting her daughters’ pleas to get on social media. “I’m not ready for my five-year-old and eight-year-old to have social media yet – I don’t think it’s healthy for children to have social media too young,” she says. “Matilda’s desperate to go on TikTok and create her own content, and sometimes I feel a bit guilty because I’m on TikTok and Instagram and she sees that. So I said, ‘Why don’t you have mummy’s?’ and she said, ‘No, I want my own!’” As a compromise for the time being, the girls have been allowed a NickWatch connected smartwatch, which is free from social media but features games, music, safe connectivity with parents, and a GPS tracker. “A GPS tracker is such a comfort as a parent to have,” says Flanagan. “You can see where they are at all times, which is great. For me as a parent, I never keep my eyes off my children, they’re too precious. It’s just to have peace of mind.” New research by NickWatch found 41% of parents with a child under 10 years say their child has walked off on their own without them being aware. According to the survey, parents of children aged under 10 say they’ve ‘lost’ them five times on average. Fortunately, keeping a close eye on her kids means Flanagan has never been in that position, although she admits: “I’ve had a moment in a supermarket where I’ve kind of gone, ‘Where’s Matilda?’, and then I’ve seen her. But it’s common for people to lose their children, which is really scary – it’s the worst feeling in the world, and you need to have eyes in the back of your head.” But it was her daughter’s eyes that were on her, when Flanagan took part in I’m a Celebrity… South Africa recently, more than 10 years after she first took part in the show in the Australian jungle. “I loved the jungle, I really, really, did,” she declares. “It was just such anamazing experience. It was great to go back and redeem myself. I didn’t want to be pathetic and rubbish at the trials, and I had my little girl watching from home, so I couldn’t have not done it – she’d have been gutted, so that was my motivation.” Now she’s back, Flanagan, who last appeared as Rosie Webster on Coronation Street in 2018, says she’s currently doing a lot of work on social media and auditioning, and has “things in the pipeline that I can’t really share just now”. But she adds: “I’d absolutely love to go back to Coronation Street at some point, it’s just timing – I definitely want to do it at some point.” Helen Flanagan is helping to launch Nickwatch, a new connected smartwatch for children aged six to nine with built-in GPS tracking. Read More Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden diagnosed with breast cancer aged 32 Joe Alwyn attends Celine dinner at Cannes Film Festival Madeleine McCann – latest news: Search of remote reservoir enters second day as police seen digging beside dam Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

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Officials say an Australian police officer will face charges for shocking a 95-year-old woman with a stun gun and leaving her with critical head injuries as she approached him using a walker and carrying a steak knife in a nursing home

HERZOGENAURACH, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2023--

Each year, the Cannes Film Festival red carpet sees the biggest stars in Hollywood and beyond gather in their finest threads. The 2023 festival, which began on Tuesday 16 May and will run until Saturday 27 May, has already served up a plethora of looks, from Elle Fanning’s delightfully risqué sequinned gown to Maya Hawke’s pleasantly demure mossy green dress. There have also been some surprising moments on the red carpet, such as Jennifer Lawrence’s unexpected choice of flip-flops instead of heels and a shock protest by a Ukrainian activist involving plenty of fake blood. Here are our picks for the best-dressed stars at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Elle Fanning Fans went wild for The Great star Elle Fanning’s silver Paco Rabanne dress that she wore on Thursday 18 May. The metal gown was declared the “party dress of the season” and included long, shard-like sequins and two metal cut-out snowflakes that covered the actor’s breasts. Jennifer Lawrence The Oscar-winning actor arrived on the red carpet on Sunday 21 May wearing a crimson Christian Dior couture gown for the premiere of the Anatomie D’une Chute (Anatomy of a Fall). The dress featured a corset bustier topped with a ruffled bust and a matching shawl worn around Lawrence’s arms. But it was her footwear that really stood out. Lawrence opted to descend the steps at the Palais des Festivals in a pair of casual black flip-flops instead of heels. Maya Hawke The Stranger Things star opted for a Prada ensemble at the world premiere of Asteroid City on Tuesday 23 May. Hawke wore a moss green strapless grown and baby blue gloves, accessorised with a chunky diamond necklace. Julia Fox Known for her daring fashion choices, actor Julia Fox has already appeared several times at this year’s Cannes Film Festival in outfits including transparent elements. She attended the Art of Elysium Paradis 25th anniversary party on Sunday 21 May wearing a see-through abstract breastplate atop a voluminous white skirt. The following day, while attending the premiere of The Idol, Fox wore a sheer gown that appeared to be constructed out of transparent plastic, designed by Nicolas Jebran. She completed the look with black lipstick. Troye Sivan Also attending the premiere of The Idol, which he stars in opposite Lily-Rose Depp, Troye Sivan wore an all-black ensemble on the red carpet on Monday 22 May. His outfit consisted of a black shirt with cut-outs under the collar, as well as a black jacket and trousers. He accessorised with a red rose and silver stem brooch on his lapel, and silver rings. Michelle Yeoh Newly minted Oscar winner Michelle Yeoh arrived at the festival wearing a green taffeta silk gown by Balenciaga Couture, with a matching stole. The look was completed with black opera gloves and black stiletto heels. Around her neck, she wore a black-and-white statement necklace. Gigi Hadid Gigi Hadid wore a strapless, structured Zac Posen gown that featured peplum details around her hips and a slightly flared skirt. The model attended the premiere of Firebrand on Sunday 21 May. She accessorised with a number of jewels from Messika, including a collar necklace, two pairs of drop earrings and multiple diamond rings. Natalie Portman Natalie Portman made jaws drop when she arrived at the Cannes Film Festival wearing a recreation of Christian Dior’s iconic Junon dress, which was first designed in 1949. The actor’s gown features a white bustier and petal-like layers cascading down the voluminous skirt, with each petal edged with sequins. It was named as a nod to Greek mythology and was inspired by peacock feathers. Lily Gladstone Lily Gladstone made her Cannes debut wearing a Valentino Haute Couture gown for the premiere of Killers of the Flower Moon on Saturday 20 May. The actor’s dress featured large yellow flowers against a black base, with a matching cape around her shoulders. She wore dangling earrings by Jamie Okuma, as well as other jewellery by Chopard. Read More Elle Fanning wows fans with daring cut-out dress at Cannes: ‘My nips could never’ Joe Alwyn attends Celine dinner at Cannes Film Festival Maya Hawke raises eyebrows at Cannes as she pirouettes down red carpet

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