Dan Miller, the longtime Detroit Lions play-by-play voice and FOX 2 sports anchor, joined the station's Sports Office through Zoom on Tuesday to thank the community. His wife, Cindy Miller, died following a long battle with cancer.
Miller has been on leave since Cindy died on Oct. 10 at age 63, according to The Detroit News. He missed the Lions' game against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday, Oct. 11, a 45-21 win. FOX 2 Detroit reported that he did not travel to or call the game.
Cindy Miller was diagnosed with cancer in October 2024, after doctors found two brain tumors that were later removed. The family had roughly 15 good months before the cancer returned, this time as leptomeningeal disease, an aggressive recurrence that ultimately took her life after a years-long fight, FOX 2 Detroit reports.
What Leptomeningeal Disease Actually Does
Leptomeningeal disease has no cure, and Miller's family tried to buy more time together. The condition is uncommon.
Medical information backs up just how severe that diagnosis is. Leptomeningeal disease is cancer that has spread from elsewhere in the body into the cerebrospinal fluid and the leptomeninges, the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord, according to Cleveland Clinic. The clinic describes it as an advanced and aggressive pattern of cancer that appears in roughly 5% of people with metastatic cancer, meaning cancer that has spread beyond where it originally started. There is no cure, the clinic notes, so care instead focuses on easing symptoms and slowing the disease's spread.
A Community Rallies Around the Miller Family
In lieu of flowers, the Miller family asked that donations go to the Leptomeningeal Cancer Foundation. FOX 2 Detroit reported the fund had received close to $20,000 in donations. The donations reflect community support for the Miller family.
Speaking Tuesday, Miller said the support and donations had been healing.
