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Amy Dowden has shared an update after announcing she has breast cancer. The dancer told fans that she underwent a single mastectomy to treat stage three breast cancer after she was first diagnosed in May. But last month, she was told she needed chemotherapy after further tumours were discovered following the surgery. Since receiving her diagnosis, Dowden, who is best known for working as a professional dancer on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing since 2017, has been raising awareness of breast cancer and updating her followers throughout her treatment. In her latest update, Dowden shared a series of posts to her Instagram Stories showing her followers the bespoke wig she had made as undergoes chemotherapy. Both Dowden and the owner of Be Unique Wigs by Charlotte shared a screenshot of their messages, as Dowden thanked her for making the wig. Charlotte, the wigmaker, wrote: “I’ve been working on a wig for the beautiful @amy_dowden and just received this lovely message from her! “I love her,” wrote Dowden in the messages, asking if she could order another one. “Thank you so so so very much.” The wigmaker said in an Instagram post that it was an ‘honour” to make the wig for the Strictly professional. “I’m hoping it will give you some comfort in a difficult time, I’ve said many times on here... it’s not just hair!” said the wigmaker. “Losing your hair can make such a difference to your confidence it’s almost like losing part of your identity,” Charlotte added. Last month, in an Instagram Live conversation for the charity CoppaFeel!, Dowden spoke about being told she’d need chemotherapy after more tumours were discovered following her mastectomy. “For me my journey everything changed,” she explained. “I was originally going to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy and hormone treatment. But then, after my MRI, they found another tumour so then it changed into a mastectomy and then, after my mastectomy, unfortunately, they found even more tumours. “They found another type of cancer and then they told me I needed chemo – for me that was a massive blow,” she continued. “It wasn’t in the plan, originally – and I know the plan you can’t get fixated on.” Dowden also added that would not be able to dance in a competitive capacity on this year’s Strictly. “This year, it means I’m not going to be able to dance with a celebrity on Strictly, but I’m in such regular contact with the team – the BBC have just been utterly incredible,” she said. “The rest of the year looked very different to what was planned but hopefully I’ll enter 2024 cancer free and I’ll never take anything for granted and promise to live life to the full,” she wrote in a post last month. Dowden joined Strictly in 2017, and has competed in every series since, reaching the final in 2019 with kids’ TV presenter Karim Zeroual. Find the full Strictly Come Dancing 2023 lineup here. Read More What I gained (and lost) by walking 10,000 steps each day for 5 months Pink fan who went into labour during concert names newborn son after pop star Woman behind viral ‘not real’ plane tirade says her life has been ‘blown up’ Strictly’s Amy Dowden shares health update following second cancer diagnosis How to sleep during hot weather, according to experts What is rheumatoid arthritis?

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French state schools have sent “dozens” of Muslim girls home for wearing a traditional robe banned in educational settings last week. The French education minister reported that almost 300 pupils arrived at school on Monday wearing the abaya, a long, loose over-garment that spans from the shoulders to the feet. Similar to the djellaba worn in North Africa or the qamis which is popular in West Africa, it is largely worn by women. Official figures reflect that 298 girls, mostly aged 15 and over, wore the garment to school in spite of the ban, most of whom agreed to change their clothes after being reprimanded by teachers. However, 67 girls refused to comply with the rules and were sent home. Now, they face further discussions between their schools and families; should they refuse to obey, they could face exclusion. Education minister Gabriel Attal announced the ban at the end of August in line with France’s secularist ban on religious signs in state schools and government buildings. For Mr Attal, the garments are “an infringement on secularism” and, in some cases, a bid to destabilise schools. Elsewhere, pupils and teachers alike have been banned from wearing a headscarf in state-run schools since 2004, and full-face veils have been banned in public since 2010. The rules also include the Jewish kippa. France has a long history of secularism, having enforced strict bans on religious imagery in schools since the 19th century to curb Catholic influence on public education. Critics of the new policy argue that abayas, worn by women, and khamis, the male garb, are no more than a fashion statement. They say the garments do not constitute an ostentatious sign of religion and should not be banned from classrooms under a 2004 law. Authorities fear that religious symbols are a gateway to Islamic radicalism, while some Muslims feel stigmatised by efforts to make them conform. Islam is the second largest religion in France. “Our schools are continually tested. We know that,” Mr Attal said at a news conference a week ahead of the start of the school year. He said that the wearing of abayas and khamis, a “new phenomenon,” has recently grown, and must be met with a firm response to tackle what sometimes amounts to “infringements, attempts at destabilisation.” Read More France set to ban Muslim students from wearing abaya in state schools French education minister bans long robes in classrooms in effort to defend nation's secular values France's Macron says schools will be 'intractable' in enforcing ban on robes often worn by Muslims France's Macron supports experimenting with uniforms in some schools amid debate over ban on robes

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