Dance Moms’ Kelly Highland to Undergo Heart Surgery After Cancer Battle

The Dance Moms alum was diagnosed with stage 1, grade 3 invasive carcinoma last year after discovering a lump in her breast. She started her chemotherapy and celebrated her milestone by ringing a bell at the hospital just a month ago.

This week, her eldest daughter, Brooke Hyland, hopped on TikTok to update fans on her mother’s current condition – and revealed her new diagnosis.

“You guys all watched her finish up her chemo and all of her breast cancer-related things,” the 27-year-old dancer said on TikTok posted on June 24. “Unfortunately, right after that, she got news that she needs to get open heart surgery … I figured I would update you guys so you know what’s going on and you can send all of your prayers her way.”

“She was originally supposed to have surgery on Friday but now she has to go in tomorrow,” she shared. “They are hoping to go in robotically but if they aren’t able to reach her heart then they will have to go in the traditional way…terrifying. Her heart is currently leaking.”

Brooke, who appeared on the show from 2011 until 2014 alongside her mom and sister, went on to further describe what the family has been told about the mother-of-three’s heart condition.

“She’s had a few different opinions from doctors, some say that she’s had it since she was younger and her valve just doesn’t close properly, others have said that it might be a side effect of the cancer because it could be a tear,” she explained.

“I don’t really know. She’s getting it fixed. Thankfully, some of the scans she had gotten for her cancer actually showed that she had this, which is a blessing.”

On a follow-up TikTok posted June 25, the retired dancer and her fiancé went to a mall to pick out a thoughtful gift for her mother – a Build-a-Bear that will remind Kelly of Brooke, since she’ll be away at the time of her mother’s surgery, which was postponed to a different date.

“Her surgery just got moved—it keeps getting moved—and it will fall on a day where I will be out of town. I feel like a bear could be cute, because I know you can put your voice in them, so it could be like when she gives it a little hug I could be talking to her.”