In January 2006, Alex Lambie was diagnosed with terminal kidney cancer. Although he lived to see Dott win the World Championship in May of that year, he died on 16 December 2006, while Dott was playing in the 2006 UK Championship. Weeks afterward, Elaine, who was pregnant, had a cancer scare when doctors discovered potentially cancerous cysts on her ovaries. Although she turned out not to have cancer, she suffered a miscarriage while Dott was playing in the 2007 Masters. After these experiences, Dott entered a severe depression, which affected his commitment to practice and his performance in matches. He lost 15 professional matches in a row and slid down the rankings, dropping out of the top 16. Medication subsequently helped him recover his place in the top 16, although he expects his battle with depression to be lifelong. Dott and his wife had a second child, a daughter Lucy, born in November 2008.