Abby Lee Miller is walking again — and the little steps she took across the stage on “The Doctors“ made for an incredibly emotional moment.
The 52-year-old “Dance Moms” star has been confined to a wheelchair ever since April 2018, when she underwent an emergency surgery on her spine, revealing that the acclaimed dance instructor had a rare cancer called Burkitt lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Read More“Watching this made me cry!,” Miller wrote. “Thank you @thedoctorstv for letting me share my story with the world! Dr Lawrence Piro, Dr Hooman Mellomed, Dr Christopher Boudakian, Dr Simoni for your wisdom and kindness. My PT was so amazing, CRI is the best! I'm not nearly as strong as I was during this taping. I have a long way to go – if there's 1 thing I know, it's that I'm a fighter and there's no such thing as ‘can't’!”
On the same episode of “The Doctors,” Dr. Lawrence Piro, an oncologist and the President and CEO of The Angeles Clinic and Research Institute (an affiliate of the Cedars-Sinai Medical Canter) said, “The minute Abby was in remission, she took off, trying to get her life back.” Miller smiled and nodded her head at this, as Dr. Piro continued, “right after we finished (treatment) she took off to Pittsburgh to film a new season of ‘Dance Moms.’ And she was running at full-tilt doing it all.'”
Dr. Piro shared that, although Miller is in remission for her cancer, 10-20 percent of people with Burkitt lymphoma experience a recurrence (meaning their cancer comes back), indicating that Miller will need to be closely monitored.
Abby Lee’s Cancer Journey Has Been Challenging Both Physically and Emotionally
After the back surgery that left her in a wheelchair last year, Miller shared that the doctors who operated on her spine had found that there was a cancerous tumor wrapped around her spinal cord, which Miller described as "choking" her spine. The cancer diagnosis was hard on Miller, but in an interview with "Good Morning America" back in May, she shared that it was a blessing that she had the surgeryand found the cancerwhen she did.
"I would have been dead," Miller said." I was paralyzed from the neck downno movement. Because this cancerthis lymphomawas choking my spinal cord."
Cancer treatment varies across different lymphoma types, and in Miller's case was chemotherapy and surgery. After her back surgery, Miller underwent six rounds of chemotherapy.
In June, the "Dance Moms" star appeared in her mechanical wheelchair on an interview with E! News' "Daily Pop,” during which she opened up about the challenges of her cancer journey and the emotional effects that the past year have had on her. One of the challenging questions posed to Miller during the interview was whether she now had to ask for helpand whether she had trouble doing so.
"I still do everything!" Miller said defensively. But she also shared that she had learned to rely on other peopleincluding strangersto grab things for her, hold doors, and navigate areas that are not accessible to people in wheelchairs.
"These are perfect strangers…and yet, I rely on them all the time," Miller said. "It renews your faith in humankind and that people are genuinely nice and helpful."
Going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment is difficult on its ownbut we know from survivors that even after beating cancer, hurdles often remain, including dealing with lingering physical limitations, returning to work, and navigating dicey relationships with people who might not understand the nuances of a cancer journey. While Miller has shared that she is cancer-free, her journey isn’t over.
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