Abby Lee Miller Reveals How Her Life Has Changed 7 Years After Being On Her ‘Deathbed’ with Cancer

Abby Lee Miller is living life to its fullest eight years after being diagnosed with Burkitt lymphoma.

The Dance Moms alum received her cancer diagnosis in 2018, before announcing that she was cancer-free in 2019. Her battle with the disease, however, left her using a wheelchair after sustaining damage to her spine.

“I just feel like I was on the deathbed. I mean, I was dying. Blood pressure 23/17, you’re dying,” Miller, 61, recalls in a new interview with First For Women.

“And I just think that God let me live, so I want to live. I want to live, I want to live, live, live life to its fullest,” she adds.

While the dance instructor continues to teach at her studio and on the road, her approach to doing that has changed in recent years.

“I just can’t really spot acrobatics like I used to. I’d spot those side aerials, and I could pop a kid with one hand, even if they’re five foot eight … and I can’t do that anymore. I just don’t have the strength,” she shares with First for Women.

She also says that while she does have assistants who travel with her and help with choreography, it’s “hard to get them to read my mind” when she has a specific vision for a piece.

“The kids that I train, they really know their terminology, so that part is easy. You know, fan kick, tombé, pas de bourrée, glissade … they know it,” Miller continues. “But then something that’s weird and cool and unique on the floor, I just can’t get them to do it right. It takes time. It’s time consuming.”

Another point of contention for the reality TV star is flying — especially on American Airlines. In 2019, Miller made headlines after she claimed airline employees dropped her during a transfer between one wheelchair and another. American Airlines later reimbursed her, though Miller sued the airline in 2021, per CBS News; the current status of that lawsuit is unclear.

Speaking with First For Women, Miller says it’s been hard “getting the damn airlines not to break my chair every time I fly.”

“American should be shut down. They should just put a big ad out [reading], ‘We don’t like people in chairs. We don’t like you and your equipment. Don’t fly, American,'” she insists.

“Delta is much better. Delta is way better,” the Abby’s Ultimate Dance Competition judge adds. “They have this white glove care with your chair. They take really good care of it. They put it in its own bin. They strap it down. They’re wonderful.”

Overall, Miller says she is “feeling okay now,” though still struggles with back pain from being in her chair too long. She also admits that she should be doing more physical therapy, but has been spending more time in Orlando, Florida — far from the California Rehabilitation Institute in Los Angeles that she usually frequents.

“So I need to find a place [in Florida] where I can go to therapy. I should be standing and walking much more,” she explains. Her goal is to start “walking again.”

Currently, Miller is headlining the new unscripted series Abby vs. Cathy: Hit the 8, debuting on October 27 on the mobile-first vertical entertainment platform ShortVydz. The show reunites her with former Dance Moms costar Cathy Nesbitt-Stein, as they judge young dancers competing for a cash prize.

Miller says she’s also been teaching, traveling, and watching a lot of scripted TV.

Citing shows like Landman and Your Friends & Neighbors as her current faves, she also reveals that she loves “everything” involving famed dancer/actress Debbie Allen.

“I keep begging her. I’m like, ‘Can I be in a wheelchair on Grey’s Anatomy? Can I just zip through there?’ You know, let me just fly through it,” jokes Miller, who says the Grey’s actress and ​​executive producer has told her, “Abby, if you flew there, everyone would know it was you.”

Otherwise, Miller says she keeps positive by shopping and laying out in the sun.

“I like to swim, and I was in Mexico for a few days, and I had to go to Buffalo, New York, from there,” she shares. “And I thought, ‘Am I going to go back to Orlando or LA? No, I’m just going to stay here and lay in the sun for two days, and I did.”

Abby vs. Cathy: Hit the 8 debuts October 27 on ShortVydz.