The 'Dance Moms' star shares an extremely personal photo one year after she underwent emergency surgery on her spine.
Abby Lee Miller shared an extremely personal photo on Wednesday to commemorate one year after she underwent emergency surgery on her spine.
The 52-year-old Dance Moms star was preliminarily diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma -- a form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system -- before she underwent the surgery in Marina del Rey, California, on April 17, 2018. Following the procedure, Miller’s orthopedic spine surgeon, Dr. Hooman Melamed, shared that she had been suffering "extreme pain in her back, arms and neck area."
On Wednesday, Miller shared a photo of herself with a shaved head and showed a long scar on her back from the surgery.
"One year ago today ~ I underwent emergency surgery for an infection in my spine," she wrote. "This mass/tumor choking my spinal cord turned out to be Burkitt Lymphoma. I endured ten rounds of chemo therapy (each lasting 6 days with 4/ 24hr bags pumping poison into my body ending with a spinal tap in 3 spots, plus another shot of Chemo into my tailbone area up the spinal cord around my brain cavity) Ten times! Another spine surgery was needed & I have one more still to go. I struggled thru months of physical therapy to learn to sit up again, to crawl and maybe with a miracle someday I’ll walk."
Miller also had a message for the doctors she says didn't properly diagnose her.
"Why didn’t the ER Doctors on duty do their jobs? I came in twice with the same symptoms?" she wrote. "Why didn’t somebody listen to me, the patient? I finally found the right team that’s why I lived to tell my story, I have a lot to say! Thank you to all wonderful top notch professionals who continue to help me heal. For those who missed it, misdiagnosed me, and the so called Federal 'Doctor' who took me off medication cold turkey and the other ER 'Doctor Hollywood' who told me to go home and take it easy for 10 days - STOP practicing! Please."
This isn't the first time Miller has showed personal photos post-surgery. Last June, following a second spinal surgery, she Instagrammed a photo of her stitches and revealed she got 52 staples.
Meanwhile, earlier this month, a new trailer for the new season of Dance Moms dropped, featuring an all-new cast. Miller was as fierce as ever, yelling at her students and their mothers from her wheelchair.
A source close to the production of Dance Moms exclusively tells ET, “Abby has never worked harder or been more invested in her elite dance competition team. Getting back to work on the new season has given Abby a new purpose and her passion for dance is stronger than ever!"
Watch the video below for more on Miller's emotional return to Dance Moms.
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