Abby Lee Miller Says "The Cancer Is Completely Gone"

From Woman's Day

After a long, hard battle with Burkitt lymphoma, a highly aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Abby Lee Miller has declared she is cancer free. The reality star shared the news during an interview with People stating, “the cancer is completely gone.” The 53- year-old choreographer and reality star has been open about her painful health journey, sharing raw photos of her post-surgery and updating fans every step of the way.

After suffering from what seemed to be an unusual spinal infection just after her release from prison for bankruptcy fraud in 2018, Miller underwent emergency surgery to remove a large tumor around her spinal cord before ultimately being diagnosed with the rare cancer. It was a surgery that saved her life.

Now, a year after the initial diagnosis and an incredible 10 rounds of chemotherapy, the dance teacher has successfully beaten the disease. But she knows that the fight won’t stop there. The tumor in her spine left Miller temporarily paralyzed, and she has been using a motorized wheelchair for mobility ever since. She tells People that her next accomplishment will hopefully be re-learning how to walk.

“If I can move, I can stand,” she told the magazine. By the looks of her social media, Miller is under an intense physical therapy regimen to try and make that happen, even completing a port de bras in one video.

In the last year, Miller has been extremely open about sharing the emotional details of her battle on social media, and season 8 of Dance Moms gives fans an even deeper look into the difficult medical journey. The new season’s trailer shows heartbreaking footage of her in the hospital and during rehabilitation, tearfully explaining how quickly her life changed. Miller even alludes to this herself, writing the caption “Find out what really happened to me... during the biggest fight of MY LIFE!” on a teaser post for the new season she shared to Instagram.

On the one-year anniversary of that fateful surgery, Miller posted an uncensored photo of her postoperative scar, reflecting on her health journey and thanking those who caught the illness in time. And as she told People, she’s definitely not done saying thank you to those around her.

“I think I must say ‘Thank you’ a hundred times a day because I have to rely on strangers," she said. "Someone to open the door, someone to get the hanger off the rack at the department store, someone to pick up my phone if I drop it. How am I supposed to get it? I’m very grateful and thankful to strangers that have been so kind."

As season 8 unfolds with an all-new cast, Miller can finally focus on her bigger goals, which includes becoming an executive producer.

For now though, the tough teacher plans to spend her time and energy doing just that-teaching. “I felt like I lost my purpose and I needed to find it,” she said in the latest Lifetime teaser. “I need to get back to screaming at children.”

Back in her Dance Moms glory, a now-healthy Miller will return to Lifetime for season 8 of dance moms on June 4. For now, you can catch up on all the old seasons on Hulu.

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