Abby Lee Miller Is Triumphing Over Burkitt Lymphoma
- Miller is working hard to regain her ability to walk after an aggressive cancerous tumor required multiple spinal surgeries
- She resumed physical therapy when quarantine restrictions eased
- After a difficult spring, her new, positive outlook is speeding her progress
Abby Lee Miller, 54, once the star of “Dance Moms” has been spotted out and about in her motorized wheelchair, making the best of both quarantine and the physical aftermath of Burkitt Lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the white blood cells.
RELATED: Abby Lee Miller, Stepping Out of Quarantine & Onto the Beach, Won’t Let Cancer Beat Her!
Because it’s both rare and aggressive, Miller’s cancer has been challenging from the time of her April 2018 diagnosis. A cancerous tumor on her spine required three surgeries and more than ten rounds of chemotherapy.
The treatment was physically devastating: “I struggled thru months of physical therapy to learn to sit up again, to crawl and maybe with a miracle someday I’ll walk,” she shared in a 2019 Instagram post.
RELATED: “When You’re in a Wheelchair, You’re Invisible” — “Dance Moms” Abby Lee Miller, Setting Small Goals For Walking Again After Cancer
Reveling in her recent outings in Santa Monica, Miller captured her renewed strength and upbeat mood with a quote from Charlotte Bronte: “Even for me, life has its gleams of sunshine.”
For Miller: Life Is Looking Up
Her fresh outlook represents an about-face from April, when she faced isolation in an “awful” hotel-bound quarantine: “They’re telling me I have to move out tomorrow,” she told Hollywood Life in a video interview.
Miller’s recent outings reflect her renewed energy and commitment to physical therapy.
I’m handicapped, so it’s a nightmare. I found an apartment, finally, but it’s brand-new; it’s not inspected … so I can’t move in.”
RELATED: ‘Dance Moms’ Abby Lee Miller Says ‘She Never Walked Again’ After Cancer Diagnosis Two Years Ago
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Miller said. “it’s absolutely awful.”
A Cancerous Tumor: Spinal Surgery
Miller ran a Pittsburgh area dance studio before being cast on Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” in 2012. Later convicted of bank fraud, Miller served just over a year in prison.
RELATED: Abby Lee Miller’s Incredible Year — The ‘Dance Moms’ Star Is Working Hard and Getting Back on Her Feet After Cancer
After her release, her cancer struggle began when she underwent back surgery. “It was physically tough and emotionally draining,” she said of her recovery.
Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos explains how a personalized physical therapist can help patients recover after cancer treatment
“Going through the surgery, recovering, going to therapy … trying to get my right foot to move again, to get my toes to wiggle, that was hard.”
Now that her physical therapy sessions have resumed and she’s getting out a bit, Miller has been radiating positive energy in recent months. In June, she shared a video showing her progress and reported proudly that she’d walked “200 steps today!”
About Burkitt Lymphoma
Burkitt lymphoma is named after the doctor who first described it in African children, according to the American Cancer Society. A highly aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can spread to the central nervous system, Burkitt Lymphoma is one of the fastest-growing cancers known, so it needs to be diagnosed and treated quickly.
Related: ‘I Walk Out Here Next Time!’ Reality-TV star and Cancer Survivor Abby Lee Miller Vows to Get Stronger on ‘The Doctors’
Because the disease is often indistinguishable from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, another aggressive form of lymphoma, an accurate diagnosis is critical, according to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
About Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Burkitt Lymphoma is a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which starts in the white blood cells (lymphocytes), which are part of the body’s immune system, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is not one disease, it’s many diseases,” according to Dr. Catherine Diefenbach, Director of Translational Hematology and Clinical Lymphoma at NYU Langone Health and the Perlmutter Cancer Center, who was not commenting specifically on Abby’s case. “And there are over 68 kinds of lymphoma.”
RELATED: CAR-T Therapy is a Game-Changer for Common Type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
“For this reason, it’s very important that if you have a diagnosis of lymphoma, you’re treated by a lymphoma specialist. And, we hope for all of our lymphoma patients that the first therapy you receive will be your last therapy. That is, that we can treat you and cure you with first-line therapy.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Constance Costas is a writer for SurvivorNet.
Read MoreAbby Lee Miller Is Triumphing Over Burkitt Lymphoma
- Miller is working hard to regain her ability to walk after an aggressive cancerous tumor required multiple spinal surgeries
- She resumed physical therapy when quarantine restrictions eased
- After a difficult spring, her new, positive outlook is speeding her progress
Abby Lee Miller, 54, once the star of “Dance Moms” has been spotted out and about in her motorized wheelchair, making the best of both quarantine and the physical aftermath of Burkitt Lymphoma, a cancer that originates in the white blood cells.
RELATED: Abby Lee Miller, Stepping Out of Quarantine & Onto the Beach, Won’t Let Cancer Beat Her!
Read More Because it’s both rare and aggressive, Miller’s cancer has been challenging from the time of her April 2018 diagnosis. A cancerous tumor on her spine required three surgeries and more than ten rounds of chemotherapy.
The treatment was physically devastating: “I struggled thru months of physical therapy to learn to sit up again, to crawl and maybe with a miracle someday I’ll walk,” she shared in a 2019 Instagram post.
RELATED: “When You’re in a Wheelchair, You’re Invisible” — “Dance Moms” Abby Lee Miller, Setting Small Goals For Walking Again After Cancer
Reveling in her recent outings in Santa Monica, Miller captured her renewed strength and upbeat mood with a quote from Charlotte Bronte: “Even for me, life has its gleams of sunshine.”
For Miller: Life Is Looking Up
Her fresh outlook represents an about-face from April, when she faced isolation in an “awful” hotel-bound quarantine: “They’re telling me I have to move out tomorrow,” she told Hollywood Life in a video interview.
Miller’s recent outings reflect her renewed energy and commitment to physical therapy.
I’m handicapped, so it’s a nightmare. I found an apartment, finally, but it’s brand-new; it’s not inspected … so I can’t move in.”
RELATED: ‘Dance Moms’ Abby Lee Miller Says ‘She Never Walked Again’ After Cancer Diagnosis Two Years Ago
“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Miller said. “it’s absolutely awful.”
A Cancerous Tumor: Spinal Surgery
Miller ran a Pittsburgh area dance studio before being cast on Lifetime’s “Dance Moms” in 2012. Later convicted of bank fraud, Miller served just over a year in prison.
RELATED: Abby Lee Miller’s Incredible Year — The ‘Dance Moms’ Star Is Working Hard and Getting Back on Her Feet After Cancer
After her release, her cancer struggle began when she underwent back surgery. “It was physically tough and emotionally draining,” she said of her recovery.
Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos explains how a personalized physical therapist can help patients recover after cancer treatment
“Going through the surgery, recovering, going to therapy … trying to get my right foot to move again, to get my toes to wiggle, that was hard.”
Now that her physical therapy sessions have resumed and she’s getting out a bit, Miller has been radiating positive energy in recent months. In June, she shared a video showing her progress and reported proudly that she’d walked “200 steps today!”
About Burkitt Lymphoma
Burkitt lymphoma is named after the doctor who first described it in African children, according to the American Cancer Society. A highly aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that can spread to the central nervous system, Burkitt Lymphoma is one of the fastest-growing cancers known, so it needs to be diagnosed and treated quickly.
Related: ‘I Walk Out Here Next Time!’ Reality-TV star and Cancer Survivor Abby Lee Miller Vows to Get Stronger on ‘The Doctors’
Because the disease is often indistinguishable from diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, another aggressive form of lymphoma, an accurate diagnosis is critical, according to the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
About Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
Burkitt Lymphoma is a form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, which starts in the white blood cells (lymphocytes), which are part of the body’s immune system, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Non-Hodgkin lymphoma is not one disease, it’s many diseases,” according to Dr. Catherine Diefenbach, Director of Translational Hematology and Clinical Lymphoma at NYU Langone Health and the Perlmutter Cancer Center, who was not commenting specifically on Abby’s case. “And there are over 68 kinds of lymphoma.”
RELATED: CAR-T Therapy is a Game-Changer for Common Type of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma
“For this reason, it’s very important that if you have a diagnosis of lymphoma, you’re treated by a lymphoma specialist. And, we hope for all of our lymphoma patients that the first therapy you receive will be your last therapy. That is, that we can treat you and cure you with first-line therapy.”
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
Constance Costas is a writer for SurvivorNet.
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