Abby Lee Miller's Battle With Cancer
- “Dance Moms” star Abby Lee Miller, 59, recently made an appearance on the Dr. Phil show and exuded resilience as she moved from her wheelchair to the interview chair. She recapped the evening as “the best of the best” experience.
- Miller battled a rare kind of cancer called Burkitt lymphoma in 2018 after experiencing pain in the back of her neck. Burkitt lymphoma, according to the National Cancer Institute, is a type of aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that often starts in people’s organs.
- The dance icon has been wheelchair-bound since her first spinal cord surgery, but she’s been seen more recently using a walker to get around, thanks to her determination and her continued physical therapy sessions.
- Overcoming adversity can seem daunting but having a plan can make it feel achievable. It’s important to remember that setting goals and breaking them into smaller steps is key. When going through a difficult time try setting a goal, making a plan, relying on others, and using positive self-talk.
- SurvivorNet spotlighted an important disease-fighting trait in the film “Resilience,” now streaming on SurvivorNet. It follows the lives of three athletes who are living with a health challenge yet overcame adversity.
Miller, founder of the “Abby Lee Dance Company” and “Reign Dance Productions,” previously battled Burkitt lymphoma (an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma) in 2018 after experiencing pain in the back of her neck following her prison sentence. Following chemotherapy and multiple surgeries for treatment, she was left needing to use a wheelchair to get around.
Read MoreMiller captioned the post, “Had such a wonderful time coming on @drphil at @meritstreetmedia. Thank you to all involved from the glam team, crew, @amandaarcherisme for making the experience the best of the best!!! Tune in now!! #DrPhil.”View this post on Instagram
In the video recap she shared, it begins with Miller getting her hair and makeup done backstage at the Dr. Phil Show in Dallas, Texas.
Miller was then seen using her wheelchair to move through the backstage area of the production studio, happily exploring the grounds before meeting TV personality Dr. Phil.
After being introduced to Dr. Phil, Miller is then assisted as she moves from her wheelchair to a walker, in order to sit in the chair for her interview.
As she’s using the walker she confidently said, “Everybody always asks if I’ll ever walk again. I’m walking right now!”
Additional video clips showed Miller standing up out of her wheelchair by herself to stand with her walker alongside Dr. Phil for a photo.
Recounting how she found herself on “Dance Moms,” in another video clip shared on her social media, Miller explained to Dr. Phil, “I told one kid to go out and come back in looking as a dancer.
“She had her hair down, big sloppy T-shirt on and socks. It’s dangerous. So within five minutes after the kid walking out of the room, when the mother comes in and slams the door, screaming, yelling at me and the other children were frightened … so I kind of dashed out of the room and she chased me around, and around, and around.”
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She continued, “So I dialed 911. I said, ‘There’s a psycho woman, she’s chasing me around my building, she’s scaring the children. Come get her. I want her out,’ and they say,’ does she have any weapons?’ —and I said, ‘Just her mouth.’
“So when that footage got back to the network, they said, ‘Who is this woman?'”
Abby Lee Miller’s Health Journey
Abby Lee Miller was diagnosed with a rare kind of cancer called Burkitt lymphoma in 2018 after experiencing pain in the back of her neck. Burkitt lymphoma, according to the National Cancer Institute, is a type of aggressive B-cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma that often starts in people’s organs.
What Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
Miller has had numerous surgeries and chemotherapy for cancer treatment. She also underwent emergency surgery after shattering her tibia-fibula in a swimming pool and keeps struggling with broken bones after “10 rounds of very invasive chemotherapy” left her bones “very brittle.”
“Sometimes, I feel fabulous, other times I’m in a lot of pain,” she told The U.S. Sun in a 2023 interview. “My back is chronic it hurts constantly where the surgery was.”
In May 2019, it was determined that Miller was cancer-free and she began making good progress in her recovery.
But despite all the hardship, Miller is working toward her health goals. With the help of physical and occupational therapy, Miller has been working to get rid of her wheelchair and revert back to using a walker, which she used prior to her tibia-fibula incident.
“Even though I’m paraplegic and I’m in the wheelchair, I am not letting it hold me back,” she said.
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Life after active treatment for any cancer may look different than it did prior to your diagnosis. In a previous interview with medical oncologist Dr. Michael Jain of the Moffitt Cancer Center, we learned “there are a number of different things that people may experience in the late-term period” after successful treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“Depending on the age of the patient when they’re diagnosed with their cancer, or the other health issues that are going on, sometimes the functional status, or what people are able to do, is not quite what it was before the cancer,” Dr. Jain explained.
Moving Forward After Cancer
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- Dealing With Grief Related to Health Problems
- Psychologist Marianna Strongin Offers Advice On Managing Anxiety as a Cancer Patient or Survivor
- Resilience: Staying Positive Despite Adversity
Some survivorship issues can include things like peripheral neuropathy as well as chemo brain or cognitive issues. But, unfortunately, post-treatment concerns don’t stop there.
“One of the things we focus on is trying to prevent secondary cancers,” Dr. Jain said. “Although the chemotherapy often did a very good job in terms of curing the initial cancer, there is sometimes a risk of secondary cancer happening.
“And so patients should be watched for that and also should be aware that other cancers may occur.”
Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Treatment and Beyond
That’s why it’s important for cancer survivors to come up with a survivorship plan that includes a schedule for follow-up exams and tests as well as screenings for any new cancers. But, remember, everyone’s case of non-Hodgkin lymphoma is different. There are so many different types of the disease, and one person’s recovery from treatment can look vastly different from another person’s.
“Patients, once they finish their therapy, are often quite well,” Dr. Jain said. “If they have not had too many complications from their therapy, they are often able to go back to many of the same things that they did before they had their diagnosis of cancer and are able to live full and complete lives.”
If you’re struggling with life after cancer treatment, know you’re not alone. Don’t hesitate to talk to doctors, a therapist, family, friends or a support group if you’re struggling with how life has changed since your diagnosis.
The Power of Physical Therapy
Researchers have told SurvivorNet that physical therapy can help patients manage side effects brought on by cancer treatments such as chemotherapy. Some patients may experience fatigue, neuropathy, weakness, balance issues, and more, and by consulting with a personal physical therapist, patients can work through these symptoms.
“[Physical therapists] can work with you before chemotherapy to get your baseline and get you on a program to help reduce the symptoms that may happen from chemotherapy, and they can work with you along the entire spectrum of chemotherapy treatment in order to reduce those side effects,” Dr. Angela Wicker-Ramos, a oncology physical therapist for Cancer Rehab and Integrative Medicine in Austin, Texas, told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
Dr. Wicker-Ramos also says that chemotherapy and radiation treatments can have side effects on hormones, which can lead to issues with weight gain as well as some sexual dysfunction. Luckily for patients, personalized physical therapy routines will be able to help with those side effects as well.
“A lot of the side effects that happen from cancer treatment can be improved or significantly reduced with physical therapy,” Dr. Wicker-Ramos says.
“…All of those things can be helped with an exercise program and with a very structured, individualized program.”
Resilience Through Adversity
We love how Miller is able to stand up and walk on her own after her health issues, which is why we’d like to point out how SurvivorNet specializes in covering the lives of people who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Often, seeing the positive helps them maintain their resilience.
WATCH: Defining and Building Resilience
Dr. Zuri Murrell, an oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously spoke to SurvivorNet about the role of a positive outlook on survival rates, saying, “I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
Resilience is an important trait, but not the easiest to build. The ultimate goal is not to avoid tough times, but to be able to bounce back from them. And yet, when they are faced with an overwhelming, life-changing situation, how do people shift their view? How do they learn to see the problem as temporary, rather than permanent, and figure out a solution?
It’s complicated, because building resilience is more about your mental and emotional fortitude than anything else. According to the American Psychological Association, “the resources and skills associated with more positive adaptation (i.e., greater resilience) can be cultivated and practiced.” In other words, resilience is not something you’re born with, which should be encouraging. Instead, after every challenge in your life, you build more and more resilience to those hard times.
You can build resilience the way you build muscle – through patience and steady exercise of the skill. Here are some lessons taken from Fischer, Runkel, and Soller, all who have spoke with SurvivorNet in earlier interviews.
- Be willing to learn. If one way doesn’t work, find a different way. If an obstacle lands in your way, build a path around it or over it. In Resilience, one of the athletes says, “You always have to be learning. Otherwise, life gets stagnant.” The more you learn, the more you grow and growth is a sign of resilience.
- Spend time with people who inspire you. Our world is filled with people who overcome challenges, and their success can energize you to overcome your own. Think about famous people who hava faced adversity and did not give up Stephen King actually threw his manuscript, Carrie, in the trash because it had been rejected by publishers so many times. His wife encouraged him to keep sending it out, and he finally sold it in 1974 launching a massively successful career as a novelist. Take the time to read and learn about the lives of Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, Bethany Hamilton, Nelson Mandela, and others.
- Allow yourself to grieve. Don’t push away or dismiss your frustration and sadness. Ben Fischer says that life can be filled with lots of crying, but “Those cries make us stronger.”
- Be flexible. Abandon the idea that there is only one solution or that you must stick to your original plan. The best solution or plan is the one that eventually works. You may need to change your original plan as the circumstances change.
- Lean in to your community. Your friends, colleagues, and family are invaluable, and when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed by a problem, their support can carry you. The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest study of human well-being. Many news outlets have covered its results, which show that maintaining strong, healthy relationships helped people live longer lives. Psychiatrist and author Dr. Samantha Boardman tells SurvivorNet that connecting with and contributing to the lives of other people are two of “the three wellsprings of vitality” (the third is feeling positively challenged).
Facing Cancer: How to Turn Stress into Strength
If you’ve been through a difficult health challenge or any type of adversity throughout your live, Dr. Boardman told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview that one way to get your mental health back in check after a diagnosis is to try to play up your strengths.
“I sometimes will ask patients, tell me about yourself when you were at your best,” she explained. “Using that story, trying to figure out what strengths come to mind. Is it patience? Is it appreciation of beauty? It is perseverance? [Then we can] use those strengths in constructive ways to navigate their cancer journey.”
Dr. Boardman says another way to approach harnessing the strength you already have is by tapping into your values. This could be family, close friendships, spirituality, or commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Reminding yourself of what your values are and how you are living accordingly is another way to unleash that inner strength.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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