Abby Lee Miller Living Life To The Fullest
- Abby Lee Miller, star of the hit show Dance Moms and a cancer survivor, recently celebrated her 57th birthday.
- Despite being diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2018 and wheelchair-bound for the last several years due to complications suffered during surgery, Miller is proud to be “smiling, laughing and still teaching.”
- Lymphoma is typically treated with chemotherapy, medication, radiation, and, sometimes, stem-cell transplant. The type of lymphoma you have will dictate the treatment path.
“Today I celebrate being alive ~ blooming, creating, hoping, dreaming, smiling, laughing and still teaching,” the reality TV personality wrote in an Instagram post on her birthday. “I'm Like A Dandelion ~ You Just Can't Keep Me Down!”
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Days later, Miller followed up on her social media page with a recap of her birthday celebration with a cake covered in pastel-colored frosting shaped as flowers, edible glitter, and mouth-watering macarons.
“My birthday could not have been complete without a FABULOUS cake from @crumbles__patisserie,” Miller wrote in the post, accompanied by several photos of her A-shaped cookie cake and her fun night out.
“Thank you SO much to the whole team for making such a beautiful and DELICIOUS contribution to my celebrations!!! #aldc #happybirthdaytome #la #abbylee #dancemoms #bday #birthdaycake,” she added.
Miller also shared a video montage of her night out with Barbra Streisand’s signature song “People” playing in the background.
“I'm so grateful to all the #People who came out to celebrate my birthday this year,” she captioned the post, noting this birthday was “one of the happiest of all years.”
Abby Lee Miller's Cancer Battle
Abby Lee Miller was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in April 2018.
Burkitt is rare (making up 1% to 2% of all lymphomas) and typically starts in the abdomen, where it forms a large tumor. It can spread rapidly to the brain and spinal fluid.
According to Lymphoma Research Foundation, this fast-growing form of cancer may affect the jaw, central nervous system, bowel, kidneys, ovaries, or other organs, and may spread to the central nervous system.
Miller, who was living in a halfway house in Long Beach, Calif., at the time, began experiencing pain. She had just been released from the Federal Correctional Institution in Victorville, Calif., where she served nearly a year-long sentence after pleading guilty to bankruptcy fraud in June 2016.
Experiencing pain she had never felt before, Miller went to a local urgent care clinic, tests were done, but she was sent home, undiagnosed. Because her jaw hurt, she went to a dentist who "did an ice cube check on every tooth and said there's nothing wrong with your teeth," she previously told SurvivorNet. But the pain persisted.
Miller wound up at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center, where she was discharged after three days in "worse pain than I went in with." Her medical team suggested she go to a pain management clinic.
Several days later, Abby Lee Miller returned to the hospital, barely able to move her arms, legs or jaw, and underwent emergency surgery. Her doctor "went to my spinal cord and meticulously pulled a slime, a tar-like substance, away from the spinal cord," she says. It was complications she suffered during this surgery that have bound her to an electric wheelchair.
In May 2019, it was determined that Miller was cancer-free and began making good progress in her recovery. As of April 2021, she still has PET scans every three months to check for any recurrence.
She attends regular physical therapy sessions to build her strength back, but recently faced yet another obstacle as a result of a second spinal surgery she had in October 2020. The procedure caused two vertebrae fractures; she went through a third spinal surgery in November 2020 to rectify it.
Now, she says, "I can walk a couple steps with the walker, but I'm not where I was before September 30 (of 2020)."
Treatment Options for Lymphoma
The two most common types of this disease are Hodgkin and Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. The distinction between the two lies in the presence or absence of Reed-Sternberg cells. If doctors find these cells, the lymphoma is classified as Hodgkin lymphoma.
Treatment for lymphoma is dependent upon the type of lymphoma. This disease is typically treated with chemotherapy, medication, radiation, and, sometimes, stem-cell transplant.
What Kind of Lymphoma Do You Have? Why Your Type Matters
In an earlier interview, Dr. Caitlin Costello, a hematologist-oncologist at UC San Diego Health, describes the process leading up to a stem cell transplant. She says, "First, we have to prove that you're as fit and healthy as we think you are, and so patients will go through a variety of testing in order to understand the strength of their heart and their lungs and their liver and their kidneys."
"And while you are going through this, your donor, if it has not been identified, is being searched for," says Dr. Costello. "That donor may be a sibling, which is what is ideal. If a sibling is not a match or unavailable, we'll be looking for an unrelated donor in a worldwide registry."
Staying Positive
Studies have proven that patients who are able to remain positive during and after treatment – like Miller – have more successful outcomes. Of course, this is often easier said than done. It can be difficult to focus on anything except your treatment or getting better after the process. However, if you're able to stay uplifted by doing activities you enjoy, then that should also be prioritized even the experts say so.
Related: 7 Cancer Survivors and Thrivers Tell Us How They Keep a Positive Attitude
"We know from good studies that emotional health [and] quality of life is associated with survival, meaning better quality of life is associated with better survival, better outcomes," Dr. Dana Chase, a gynecologic oncologist at Arizona Oncology, told SurvivorNet.
"So working on your emotional health, your physical well-being, your social environment, your emotional well-being, making them better are important and can impact your survival,” Dr. Chase continued. “If that's related to what activities you do that bring you joy, then you should try to do more of those activities."
Dr. Dana Chase Explains Why Mindset Is So Important When Facing Difficult Times
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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