Less than a month after fans caught up with him Kelly Hyland on the Dancing mothers In a reunion special, the former Lifetime star announced that she had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer.

“The first warning sign was my significant weight loss,” said Hyland, 53, E! News in an interview published on Wednesday, May 29. “I had lost so much weight that other people noticed and asked for my diet tips, but I hadn’t changed anything in my daily routine that would have caused the weight loss.”

She made an appointment for a mammogram in late March after discovering a lump in her breast. “I had just had one done eight months earlier and the results were clean,” Hyland explained. “However, this new mammogram and ultrasound were not, they showed a mass.”

After Hyland underwent a biopsy, the mass was found to be malignant and she was diagnosed with grade 3 invasive carcinoma. She told the outlet that she had to break the news to her children. Brooke26, Josh24, and Paige23, by phone call was a “very hard conversation for all of us,” especially since her mother died of cancer in 2019. (Kelly shares her children with her ex-husband Randy Hyland.)

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“We watched my grandma battle cancer for years, so I knew we were at the beginning of a very long and difficult road,” said Brooke, who got engaged to her fiancé. Brian Thalman Earlier this month, E! News“I hated seeing another important person in my life go through that.”

Kelly further noted that her former Dancing mothers My co-stars “know what’s going on” and “have been very supportive and willing to do the filming according to my treatment plan and filming conditions.”

Kelly, Brooke and Paige played the main roles in seasons 1 to 4 of Dancing mothers from 2011 to 2014. The three left the show before the end of the fourth season due to tensions between Kelly and the dance teacher Abby Lee MillerKelly currently hosts the podcast “Dear Dance Mom …” with Melissa Gisoni (Mother of Maddie And Kenzie Ziegler), Holly Frazier (Mother of Nia Sioux) And Jill Vertes (Mother of Kendall Green). She also hosts the podcast “Back to the Barre” with Christi Lukasiak (Mother of Chloé Lukasiak).

As she continues to battle breast cancer, Kelly said the “hardest part” for her was “accepting help from the people around me,” adding, “I’m a very independent person and as a mother, I’m used to being the one who takes care of others, not the one being taken care of.”

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Kelly got help from her sister Carrie Matarazzowho serves as their “primary caregiver,” and their children. Paige and Brooke partnered with Serenity Wig Salon in Pittsburgh to create a custom wig for their mother.

“Both the salon and having my girls there made me feel good and gave me more confidence because the thought of losing my hair was hard for me,” Kelly said. Kelly is now on her second of six chemotherapy treatments and also uses a scalp cooling cap to prevent hair loss. Her chemotherapy will be followed by 11 more treatments, radiation and surgery.

Paige praised her mother’s strength, telling the outlet, “It’s going to be a long, challenging year, but if anyone can kick cancer’s butt, I’m convinced it’s my mom!”

Fans, celebrities and Dancing mothers Stars flooded Kelly’s Instagram comments with well-wishes on Wednesday after she reposted the article on social media. “I love you so much! You can do this and we’ve got you! You are so incredibly strong!”

,” Gisoni, 55, captioned the post, while Christi, 47, commented: “I love you and the kids. I’m behind you forever 🩷🩷.”