Late last month, Abby Lee Miller was released from prison after eight and a half months behind bars, and moved to a halfway house.
Abby underwent treatment for what was believed to be an infection … and has unfortunately been diagnosed with cancer.
Now, she’s released a selfie from the hospital with a message for her supporters.
Early last week, Miller underwent emergency surgery over pain in her neck and increasing levels of paralysis in her extremeties.
At the time, it was believed to have been caused by an infection.
Unfortunately, it turned out to be more complicated than an infection, and will need more than antibiotics to treat.
The former Dance Moms star has cancer, specifically in the form of Burkitt lymphoma, a type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma that was first identified in the 1950s.
Now, for the first time since that diagnosis, she’s opening up with a statement.
And that statement accompanies a powerful selfie from her hospital bed.
In the captions beside this very vulnerable photo, Miller writes:
“So much gratitude and love for those who listened, those who looked deeper, and those who leapt into action.”
She doesn’t mention the cancer, but … she knows that we all know.
“So much more I wish I could say……about how quickly your life can change at the hands of others.”
She extends her thanks.
“Thanks for [the love].”
She spelled out that love with emojis, and then followed it with a number of tags.
“#abbyleemiller #abbylee #aldc #aldcla #aldcalways #dancemoms #iwilldance”
That caption is very raw and genuine and it really tugs at your heartstrings.
(If she were a Millennial, she probably would have written “I lived b–ch,” after the meme, and left it at that, but there’s probably no wrong way to post a selfie after you’ve undergone surgery)
The good news is that Burkitt lymphoma has a 90% survival rate.
The bad news is that the survival rate is said to be lower among adults, among whom this particular form of lymphoma is considerably less common.
That said, Abby Lee Miller is nothing if not a fighter.
She is expected to undergo both chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
This is actually the first glimpse that Abby Lee Miller has given the world of herself following her stint in prison, during which she apparently lost a great deal of weight.
(They weren’t starving her — she underwent weight loss surgery before going behind bars)
You can see how the shape of her face has changed, even though you can only see part of it.
All things considered, she looks great.
We wish that the photo had come under better circumstances.
No one, even controversial reality stars, deserves cancer.
As she undergoes treatment, one of the top priorities for Abby’s well-being will be that she remain hydrated.
Doctors are not yet certain whether her lymphoma has spread, as it is known to do.
The good news about Burkitt lymphoma, which is a fast-spreading cancer, is that it tends to respond more quickly to treatment than slow-spreading cancers.
We certainly hope that Miller will make a full recovery as soon as possible.
