Ami Brown From "Alaskan Bush People" Is Officially Cancer-Free

From Good Housekeeping

Update, 1/17/18: Alaskan Bush People star Ami Brown has officially beaten cancer, People reports. The mother of seven had been fighting advanced lung cancer with grueling radiation and chemotherapy, and at one point was only given a 3% chance of survival.

The family announced her diagnosis in June 2017 on the Discovery show, and Ami later said she knew something was wrong after she started experiencing severe back pain on set. At first, she thought it was arthritis, but a doctor's visit led to her diagnosis. The family relocated from Alaska to Southern California for her treatment.

By December 21, Ami received the results from her latest scans and had a feeling she'd hear something happy. And it turns out all her cancer was gone, even through her back and chest."I was expecting great news," she told People. "I could just feel it."

Though she'll always have to be mindful of her health, Ami shared a positive, hopeful outlook with the magazine. "I have to go in every three months now for the rest of my life and be scanned to see if it's back or not. It's going to be a part of my life forever," she said. "But I want to encourage people to enjoy every moment and walk every moment with God because he knows what it's about. Never give up faith."

Original, 8/14/17: Ami Brown, one of the stars of the Discovery show Alaskan Bush People, was diagnosed with stage 3 lung cancer earlier this year, a process the family shared with viewers of the show back in June. And in an interview with People, she says the treatment has been rough on her body, but she and her family are still hopeful for her recovery.

She said she first noticed a problem when she felt some back pain, and had a hard time getting around. "We were filming the show and at times it was all I could do to just stand there - I was in so much pain," she said. "When we were shooting promo shots I told them, 'There's something wrong.'" At first she blamed her arthritis, but then a scan at the dentist's office brought up "a little capsule," and that led to her diagnosis.

Now, the 53-year-old is going through grueling chemotherapy and radiation treatment at a hospital in Southern California, far from their home in Alaska, and the family has moved there to be with her. Her weight has dropped dramatically to 89.4 pounds, and she has only been given a three percent chance of survival. "I realized early into this that it's very easy to want to give up and just die. And on the pessimist side, it could be my last days," she told People. "But I have the will to fight."

Her husband, Billy, also talked to People about how he's supporting her through it all. "She's the strongest person I know, so if she's saying it hurts, it really hurts," he said. "She tries to hide it from everybody but four or five times a day she bends over like a baby and cries." But they're still staying optimistic. "This is really hard but this is also the strongest our faith has ever been," he said. "Our faith is giving us hope."

When she goes to the hospital, though, she gets a boost from fans and supporters, even fellow patients who are rooting for her. "People will stop us at red lights on our way in and tell us their whole church is praying for us. I want people to see what a big giant family we feel a part of," Ami said. "The world needs more of that."

If you'd like to send well wishes to the family, you can visit discovery.com/letters-to-the-browns, write a note, and Discovery will print it out and deliver it to them.

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