Abby Lee Miller Diagnosed With Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, A Type Of Cancer
A day after an emergency surgery, television personality Abby Lee Miller is diagnosed with a disease called non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a cancer in the lymphatic system.
Miller, 51, was reportedly rushed to the Cedars-Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital on Monday upon experiencing severe pain in her neck. Within 24 hours, her condition deteriorated quickly with other symptoms including arm weakness then eventually paralysis from the neck down.
Doctors acted swiftly, finding and removing a mass near the spine that could have been life-threatening.
Originally, Miller's condition was initially believed to have sprung from a spinal infection, but doctors say otherwise.
Miller Gets Diagnosed With Cancer
Dr. Hooman M. Melamed, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Cedar Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital, talked to People to clear things up about the reality star's condition.
"It was not an infection, it was a type of a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma — it's a type of a cancer," he states.
While the doctors have already diagnosed Miller's disease, they have yet to determine what treatment to go for in moving forward.
"We're getting an oncologist involved and we have to figure out what the next steps are as far as chemotherapy or radiation or more spine surgery," Melammed continues. "Depending on the tumor type, depending on the sensitivity of the tumor - it just depends the type but I feel more than yes, she will undergo chemotherapy or radiation."
Miller's representative says that the current diagnosis is merely a "preliminary diagnosis pending pathology and oncology results."
Access Online reports that Melamed also dished some details on the dance instructor's current condition, saying that her recovery looks good. While she is not out of danger yet and would need a second spinal surgery, Melamed has revealed that Miller has regained movement in the arms, legs, and toes.
Miller's Other Struggles
It hasn't been an easy couple of months for the reality series star.
Miller, who was convicted of fraud, was serving her year-long sentence at the Victorville Federal Correctional Facility when she was transferred into a California halfway house last March.
Following her prison release, she was hospitalized for back pain in early April. Dr. Michael Russo, weight loss surgeon who performed gastric sleeve surgery on Miller last year, says in a report in Entertainment Tonight that the back pain is not a good sign for the reality star.
The doctor explained that the Dance Moms personality is experiencing a slew of symptoms due to severe hyperthyroidism, including muscle and bone pain.
"Hypothyroidism can give you severe muscle cramping, weakness and pain," Russo says. "You can have severe difficulty moving your arms and legs. If left untreated it's been reported people can become comatose. This is a serious medical concern."
