Dance Moms alum Kelly Hyland reveals breast cancer diagnosis: 'I am on a very long and tough road'

Former Dance Moms star Kelly Hyland is opening up about her battle with breast cancer. 

Hyland, whose daughters Paige and Brooke spent several years under the tutelage of instructor Abby Lee Miller, revealed that she has been diagnosed with stage 3 invasive carcinoma after discovering a lump on her breast in late March.

"I booked myself a mammogram," the 53-year-old reality alum told E! News in a new interview. "I had just had one done eight months prior and the results came back clean. However, this new mammogram and sonogram did not. It came back showing a mass." 

A biopsy confirmed that within eight months Hyland had developed "a malignant mass.”

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"I was shocked that it had grown that quickly and scared of the battle I knew I was about to face," said Hyland of receiving the diagnosis. The mother of three immediately reached out to her children — Brooke, 26, Paige, 23, and Josh, 24 — to deliver the news in an emotional phone call.

"I would've liked to have told them in person, but a phone call was the best I could do given the circumstances,” said Kelly, who resides in Florida while her kids live in Pittsburgh. “[It] was a very hard conversation for all of us.”

“As soon as she told us the bad news, I felt like I was in shock and then quickly hit with a whirlwind of emotions," said her daughter Paige. "Not only was I scared, I was angry, sad, and confused why this would happen to someone as amazing as my mother."

But the family already has experience with the disease, which they say has helped prepare them for the difficult journey ahead.

"We watched my Nana battle cancer for years, so I knew that we were at the start of a very long and challenging road," Brooke said. "I hated that I had to watch another important person in my life go through it.”

Since Kelly revealed the news, her children have posted photos of her in the hospital.

“The strongest person I know,” Paige wrote over an image of her mother on Instagram. “I love you more.”

Brooke captioned her own post, “My strong mama.”

Their fellow Dance Moms alums, including Melissa Gisoni-Ziegler, the mother of former Abby Lee students Maddie Ziegler and Kenzie Ziegler, offered words of support.

“Love you so much,” Gisoni-Ziegler wrote. “You got this, and we got you! You are so unbelievably being so strong! “

Dance Mom star Kira Girad wrote, “You got this,” a sentiment echoed by her daughter, Kalani Hilliker.

Chloe Lukasiak, whom the family reconnected with for Dance Moms: The Reunion, wrote, “I love you and the kids. Forever have your back.”

Kelly has several treatments ahead, including chemotherapy sessions, surgery, and radiation. In the meantime, she said she will continue to record her podcasts Back to the Barre, which she hosts with Lukasiak's mom, Christi Lukasiak, and Dear Dance Mom, which features Gisoni; Nia Sioux's mom, Holly Frazier; and Kendall Vertes' mom, Jill Vertes.

Kelly told E! News that accepting help has been the toughest part of the process. "I am a very independent person and, as a mom, I'm used to being the one taking care of people, not the one being taken care of," she said. "However, I am quickly learning I am on a very long and tough road, so I am going to need to learn to accept people's help, because I am very lucky to have people that want to take care of me during this time."

Kelly and her daughters were part of the original Dance Moms lineup and stayed with the show until its fourth season, when a physical altercation between Kelly and Abby led to Kelly's arrest and the girls' dismissal from the team.