Strictly Star Amy Dowden Collaborates On New Breast Health App To Save Lives

On The Table Read Magazine, “the best arts and entertainment magazine UK“, Strictly star Amy Dowden and breast cancer survivor Gemma Ainger have joined forces to launch My Breast Friend – a free, friendly app that sends monthly reminders to check your chest and could save your life through early detection.

My Breast Friend

A groundbreaking new app called My Breast Friend has launched with a clear mission: to make monthly breast self-checks a simple, positive habit and help catch breast cancer earlier. The app is the brainchild of breast cancer survivor Gemma Ainger and is launched in partnership with Strictly Come Dancing professional and fellow survivor Amy Dowden MBE.

Gemma’s Diagnosis That Sparked a Mission

Gemma Ainger, a marketing professional from Guernsey, was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 42. Feeling fit and healthy with no family history, she rarely performed self-checks. One day in the shower she noticed something unusual. Weeks later she received the devastating news: stage 3 invasive breast cancer that had already spread to her lymph nodes.

Because the cancer was quite advanced, Gemma faced an intensive treatment journey of surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. She reflects that if she had been checking regularly, the disease could have been caught at an earlier stage, potentially making treatment less aggressive and improving her outcome. Determined that no one else should miss that opportunity, Gemma channeled her experience into creating My Breast Friend.

A Simple, Positive Tool for Everyone

My Breast Friend is completely free and available now on the App Store and Google Play. The app sends friendly monthly reminders to perform a self-check and allows users to log any changes quickly and privately. Its tone is warm, supportive and stigma-free, encouraging people to get to know what is normal for their own body, whether they identify as having boobs, a chest or pecs.

Developed with input from leading breast specialists, legal experts at Appleby Global Law Firm, and digital agency Indulge Media, the app prioritises medical accuracy, user safety and empowerment.

Gemma emphasises that the app is not about fear or cancer, but about self-care, confidence and taking control of your health.

Amy Dowden Joins the Movement

Strictly Come Dancing star Amy Dowden, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2023, immediately wanted to collaborate when Gemma shared her vision. Having experienced first-hand how vital early detection is, Amy has used her platform to raise awareness ever since.

She explains that My Breast Friend is exactly the kind of simple, positive tool she had been looking for, something that reminds people to check monthly and act early. Amy stresses that age is no barrier and urges everyone to download the app, adding that if you are not checking your chest, who is? Early detection can literally save lives.

Together, Gemma and Amy believe their shared experiences and passion for breast health awareness can make self-checks a normal lifelong routine for millions.

Building a Lifelong Habit

In the UK, nearly half of women admit they do not check their breasts regularly, despite around 1 in 7 women developing breast cancer in their lifetime. My Breast Friend aims to change that by making self-examination as routine as brushing your teeth.

Gemma’s long-term vision includes bringing the app into schools, universities and workplaces, as well as partnering with health and lifestyle brands that champion early detection. The app will also use anonymised data to track trends in checking behaviour and measure real-world impact.

While not every breast cancer can be found through self-exam, knowing your normal and being able to spot changes quickly gives people the best possible chance of early diagnosis and better outcomes. Gemma calls this knowledge a superpower that everyone should have from their twenties onwards.

With Amy Dowden’s support and a relentlessly positive approach, My Breast Friend is turning a once-scary topic into an empowering monthly habit, one reminder at a time.

Find more from My Breast Friend now:

Website: www.mybreastfriend.health
Instagram: @my_breast_friend_app