Abby Lee Miller Undergoes Emergency Surgery Amid Cancer Battle

In Recovery

Despite her famous smile and big personality, Abby Lee Miller is dealing with some very serious issues. After struggling with thyroid issues and a stint in prison (and you can seethat difficult video later in the article), it’s been far from an easy year for the choreographer.

The 51-year-old was rushed into emergency surgery on Tuesday, June 5, according to a post on her Instagram.

The photo showed an IV in her arm as she lied in a hospital bed. And in true Abby fashion, of course her nails were still painted bright red. There’s never a bad time to be fashionable.

“After another 2 hour MRI this morning, the pros thought I needed one more quick little emergency surgery! Ugh!” she wrote in the photo caption. “I’m in recovery now and texting so everything must be ok, just hiccups in my plans! I’m on a tight schedule; shooting two projects and I need to get out of here and on with my life!!!”

Fan were quick to offer their well wishes to the former reality star, with many adding that they had missed seeing the feisty TV personality on the small screen.

“Sending prayers Abby, keep fighting and stay positive, you will be up and about in no time girl!!” one fan wrote in support for the former Dance Moms star.

“Stay strong Abby we love you and are all so proud of you for fighting and being such an inspiration,” another Instagram follower penned. “Thank you for entertaining me all through my childhood :))) love you so much.”

“Hospitals are a horrible place to be.. I was diagnosed with cancer 2 times, when I was 3 years old and when I was 14 but now I am living my life doing the one thing that makes me happy. Acting, dancing and singing,” an additional fan wrote about her own experiences.

The Abby Lee fan continued to offer her support, saying, “I know and promise that once you are ready you will be able to get on with your life the way you plan to.. when things like this happen to you it makes you appreciate everything you have more.. we love you and know you will get stronger again.. you are a fighter and you will get through this.”

“My thoughts are with you Ms. Lee. I don’t pray but I can send you warm wishes and a strong thought for a total recover,” added an additional fan of the famous dance choreographer. “You are a wonderful, talented, and giving woman. You are needed in the world of dance!”

Not Out of the Woods Yet

Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images

This is far from the first emergency surgery that she’s had to deal with in the past few months. The Dance Moms alum was diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma, a form of cancer that develops in the lymphatic system, after experiencing debilitating back pain and numbness in her limbs.

The diagnosis was made when the former reality TV star sought treatment for what she originally thought was an infection in her spine. Following an MRI, it was determined that immediate surgery was required, as the longtime dance choreographer was at risk of paralysis or even death.

Abby underwent the operation on her spinal cord for a multi-level laminectomy at about 1 a.m. Tuesday, April 17.

“It was not an infection, it was a type of a non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma – it’s a type of a cancer,” Dr. Hooman M. Melamed, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Cedar Sinai Marina Del Rey Hospital who has been treating the star, explained to People. “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. 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.”

While the physician said the dance instructor had “made some recovery in 24 hours, which is better than no recovery,” he cautioned that Abby was “still not out of the woods.”

“There’s a chance this can spread to any part of the body … this is probably coming from somewhere else,” he explained. “We don’t know where the source is. Any tumor that spreads anywhere is automatically Stage 4, but we have not determined the stage yet.”

Abby was really lucky that they found it when they did, or it could have been much, much worse.

“If we didn’t do something, she was going to die,” he said of the immediacy of the procedure. “Her blood pressure was bottoming out. She was not doing well.”

A Rough Road to Recovery

Instagram @therealabbylee

Less than a week after her surgery, she shared a selfie of herself in the hospital bed recovering, thanking those that have supported her.

“So much gratitude and love for those who listened, those who looked deeper and those who leapt into action,” she penned.

She continued, writing, “So much more I wish I could say……about how quickly your life can change at the hands of others. Thanks for [the prayers and love.]”

Abby’s cancer diagnosis came just a week after she was hospitalized for a thyroid condition. Prior to that, the outspoken TV personality entered into a halfway house in Long Beach, California to serve the remainder of her 366-day prison sentence for bankruptcy fraud.

As Celebuzz! previously reported, Abby was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison in 2016, followed by two years of supervised release. She was also fined $40,000 and ordered to pay $120,000 judgment, as well as provide a DNA sample relating to her felony charge.  The sentencing took place about a year later in May 2017, and Abby entered a federal correctional facility back in July of 2017.

There are several rules to living in a federal half-way house, though Abby was probably significantly more focused on her health than we will be trying to break free of any of the structures that were provided for her.

“You must refrain from any unlawful use of a controlled substance. You must submit to one drug test within 15 days of release from imprisonment and at least two periodic drug tests thereafter, as determined by the court,” read documents from Miller’s case according to Us Weekly “You must cooperate in the collection of DNA as directed by the probation officer.”

She was also set to be given job placement help, career counseling, and financial consultants during her time in the house before moving on to her two years of supervised probation. We don’t know, though — something tells us that after what we hope will be a swift recovery, Abby will be able to find a job pretty quickly now that she’s officially on the outside, especially since fans have obviously really missed seeing Abby on their favorite Lifetime reality TV show.