WWE Star Nikki Bella Says Her Mom Is Recovering Well After Undergoing Brain Surgery To Remove Tumors

On Instagram, Bella, 36, shared a photo of her, mother Kathy (nickname Gigi), and sister Brie taking a selfie to congratulate Kathy on her progress while recovering from brain surgery. According to Bella’s caption, Kathy has been walking and her balance as well as speech has gotten better since the procedure. Bella’s mother was diagnosed with Bell’s Palsy four months ago, but after her condition worsened, doctors discovered a large mass on her brainstem. Kathy underwent surgery to remove the tumors, and even though she’s in the early stages of recovery, Bella and her sister are grateful for the progress she’s made.

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“Have had two amazing visits with my Mom,” Bella wrote. “Her balance and walking has gotten better. Her speech has gotten better. Even though her face hasn't yet, with all of your love, support and prayers you have given her so much hope and strength to have a full recovery! I can't ever thank you all enough for that!! Gigi you got this! We love you so incredibly much!!!”

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Family Support During Cancer

Watching a parent battle cancer can be an extremely difficult experience for children, but mother-daughter duo Erica and Melissa talked to SurvivorNet about how they managed to cope with the diagnosis and treatment together. Erica was only seven years old when her mother Melissa was diagnosed with tripe negative breast cancer, but the two managed to grow even closer while taking on the disease together.

Melissa knew she would eventually lose her hair while undergoing chemotherapy, and so she decided to shave her head. Instead of doing it herself, she asked Erica whether she wanted to do it for her since she knew Erica wanted to be a hairdresser at the time.

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“she looks at me, goes, ‘do you want to shave my head?’ And I was like, it was like a dream come true,” Erica says. “It was a big bonding moment that I think we had, because it was the first, I think, first step that she really took into her whole journey, and it was cool to be a part of it with her.”

Mother-daughter duo Erica and Melissa bonded over Melissa’s cancer diagnosis

It turns out, family support can come from even the most unsuspected sources. Once receiving her diagnosis, ovarian cancer survivor Donna Cleland wasn’t sure how she would break the news to her two grandchildren, or explain her hair loss from chemotherapy. However, she was grateful to learn that her grandchildren actually found her bald head an exciting change.

Related: 'Family, Friends & Faith': Ovarian Cancer Survivor Diana Faison Keeps it Positive

"Their joy was a huge help," Cleland says. "I was reading these books about how to tell children stuff, but my granddaughter thought it was just a hoot that I had lost all this hair, and she said 'well we could take it home and the birds could use it to make nests nana.’"

Ovarian cancer survivor Donna Cleland says her grandchildren were her greatest support system

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