AEW Star Rebel Opens Up About Cancer Diagnosis

Amidst her absence from All Elite Wrestling television, Rebel has faced a number of health issues, one of which she initially believed to be cryptococcal pneumonia, presented as a mass on her lung. As revealed in a new Instagram video, however, Rebel later discovered it was actually lung cancer.

"As you know, May of 2024, I was hospitalized for what I thought was cryptococcal pneumonia, which is fungal masses on my lungs. I went a year long on antifungals, and after a year of antifungals, I was not getting better," she said. "Along the way, it wasn't a very smooth sailing journey to where I am right now. There was infections, ruptures, tumors, so I had to address those as well. 

"And after a year of not getting better, I decided to go to the Mayo Clinic and see if I could get treated by them. They found that it was not cryptococcal pneumonia this whole time and that it is primary pulmonary lymphoma, which is cancer in the lungs. If there is a best case scenario, then I have it, so that's good."

Following the reveal of her primary pulmonary lymphoma (PPL) diagnosis, Rebel noted that she is currently battling an infection that is being treated with IV antibiotics. Once those antibiotics are finished and her respective infection has fully cleared, the AEW star then plans to undergo a third bronchoscopy, which will determine the best course of treatment — chemo, radiation or immunotherapy — for her PPL. Rebel hopes to begin her lung cancer treatment in January 2026.

Along her recent health journey, Rebel confirmed that she also developed functional neurological disorder, a condition that causes neurological symptoms due to disruptions in the pathways to one's brain. In Rebel's case, she's experienced trouble with walking, talking, and function in her right hand. As a result, she is now scheduled to start her rehabilitation for that on Monday, November 17.

"It has taken my ability to walk. I now walk with a walker and my ability to speak clearly, I don't know if you could tell, but it sounds like I bit my tongue. I've also lost some ability to function of my right hand," she said. "I kind of have like a claw hand, so it's hard for me to use my right, my dominant hand. I can't really write and do my makeup, obviously, little things like that. Rehab I have tomorrow [November 17], and I'm very hopeful that I can gain some of that functioning ability. With this, it's a very aggressive, intense therapy. It's Monday through Friday, 8 to 5 like a full time job. So I'm very hopeful for it."

Rebel initially joined AEW as a member of the backstage hair and makeup department. In 2020, her job evolved into on-screen work as an assistant and sidekick for former AEW Women's Champion Britt Baker.

With previous experience in TNA, OVW, and the independent wrestling circuit, Rebel later stepped into an AEW ring as well. One notable match pitted Rebel against Hikaru Shida in an AEW Women's Championship eliminator match, won by Shida. Rebel, Baker, and Jamie Hayter also teamed in a pair of AEW trios matches in late 2021. Rebel has not wrestled for AEW since August 2022, though she and fellow AEW star Harley Cameron partnered up for a tag match at Great Lakes Championship Wrestling in February 2024.

If you use any of the quotes in this article, please credit Rebel with a h/t to Wrestling Inc. for the transcription.