How Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Miller Overcame Ovarian Cancer: ‘I Had to Constantly Remind Myself That I Was Not Alone’
Key takeaways:
Shannon Miller is a two-time Olympic gymnast whose record as the most-decorated U.S. gymnast was only recently tied by Simone Biles.
After retiring from Olympic competition, Shannon went on to earn her law degree, became a gymnastics analyst and commentator, and launched a company devoted to helping women make their health a priority.
In 2011, she was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer and had a tumor the size of a baseball. This is the story of how she coped.
Shannon Miller has never been one to shy away from a challenge. She is a two-time Olympic gymnast with 7 medals to her name.
Strong will, tenacity, dedication, determination, and a desire to be the best version of herself have been guiding principles of her life for as long as she can remember.
“I began gymnastics with my sister when I was 5 years old and immediately fell in love with the sport,” she says. “I loved going to the gym where I could run, jump, tumble, and flip to my heart’s content. I loved the challenge of gymnastics. There was always a new skill to learn or a routine to master.”
Shannon says she had to train hard to become the best, saying: “I wasn’t ever the most purely talented gymnast.” But she had motivation and a goal early on to “outwork everyone else.”
That determination and fierce work ethic would go on to serve her in ways she never imagined.
Feeling too busy for a doctor’s appointment
In 2010, Shannon was working as an advocate for women’s health and wellness.
During a routine exam around that time, she told her doctor that she felt fine. She had no concerns and had almost canceled the appointment. The only thing that stopped her from canceling was her desire to authentically follow through on the advice she gives to so many other women.
“I felt a pang of guilt when I called up my own doctor’s office to cancel,” she says. “I told myself I was too busy — it could wait. But the guilt won out, and I found myself driving straight to an early exam.”
During the appointment, her doctor discovered a baseball-sized cyst on Shannon’s left ovary.
“That’s when my world stopped,” Shannon says. “My mind was spinning.”
She needed surgery to remove the tumor. She recalls going into surgery not knowing what she would wake up to.
“Was it cancer?” she remembers wondering. “Had it spread? Would I be able to have more children? Would they do a full hysterectomy? Would my son have a mother?”
Dealing with a diagnosis of ovarian cancer
Shannon had germ cell, a rare form of ovarian cancer. While the tumor was successfully removed, she had to follow up with aggressive chemotherapy.
“My gynecologic oncologist performed a laparotomy, an open and invasive surgery to remove the mass, along with my left fallopian tube and ovary,” Shannon says. “The most difficult part of the surgery was the long recovery period and not being able to lift my 14-month-old son for 2 months. I needed all the snuggles I could get.”
After surgery, the chemotherapy was tough.
“That was a huge second blow for me,” Shannon says. “I spent the next 4 weeks preparing for the chemotherapy regimen … I spent that time doing my best to prepare both mentally and physically for the journey to come.”
For her, hard work had always been the answer. But this was a whole different game.
“There isn’t any sugar-coating it,” Shannon says. “By the end of the first week, I was sent back to the hospital unable to keep down food or water. I lay there alone that night in this dark quiet room, with only the sound of the machines beeping in the background. And I just remember thinking: ‘I don’t think I can do this. I don’t know how to do this.’ I couldn’t out-work cancer.”
Learning to accept help
Shannon says she had to come to terms with the fact that she needed help to get through her cancer diagnosis.
“I had this ‘aha! moment’ … I was not going through this alone,” she says. “Yes, there was the medical team but also friends and family willing to help at every turn. I had to start letting them. I have always been someone who tries to handle things myself and get the work done. But in this situation, I couldn’t do it by myself, and I didn’t have to. My cancer journey has reminded me time and again that there is strength in not only accepting help when offered but also in asking for help when needed.”
Just as athletes rely on their teammates and coaches for support, Shannon had to rely on those around her.
Leaning in on the life lessons
Cancer turned out to be the biggest challenge Shannon had ever faced.
She realized early on that many of the life lessons she learned as a professional athlete would serve her well through this.
“Every part of a diagnosis is a challenge,” Shannon says. “A diagnosis of cancer sends you into this new world, with a new vocabulary and so many unknowns. I leaned on those amazing life lessons that I had learned through sport. Those I most leaned on were the importance of goal setting, positive mindset, teamwork, and resiliency.”
For those facing similar struggles, Shannon has the following advice:
Do your best to keep a positive mindset. “I kept trying to remind myself that the worry and negative thoughts are not helpful,” she says. “However, they kept creeping in, and I had to keep shutting them out. We can’t be positive 24/7, we have to have those moments of real, raw emotions. But then we have to find our next forward step.”
It’s important to set goals. “Many days my goal was to get up, get dressed, and walk around the dining room table twice,” she says. “It might not seem like much after winning gold at the Olympic games. But in that moment, it was an incredible accomplishment.”
Rely on your support network. “Cancer can be very isolating,” she says. “You can be surrounded by people and yet still feel you’re facing the battle alone. I had to constantly remind myself that I was not alone.”
Appreciating early detection and small joys
Shannon says her experience with ovarian cancer has been life-changing.
Professionally, it reinvigorated her passion for women’s health and wellness, especially when it comes to survivorship and supporting caregivers and those newly diagnosed.
In her personal life, Shannon says she has learned the importance of being present.
“I think that I’m doing a better job of appreciating the moment,” she says. “I used to accomplish a goal and then immediately move to a new one.”
Despite being in the public eye, Shannon says that throughout her career as a gymnast, she never really felt comfortable celebrating an achievement.
“Winning Olympic medals was a big deal, but I was shy about the success,” she says. “It made me uncomfortable to be in the limelight.”
That has changed post-cancer. Now, she celebrates everything she can.
“I’m like, ‘I did six loads of laundry, cleaned the house, nailed my speech, and picked up the kids on time … Alert the media, I’m on fire!”
Shannon says that life itself is worthy of celebrating.
Today, Shannon — who is 45 and lives in Jacksonville, Florida — is cancer-free.
While fear of cancer returning sometimes creeps back in, Shannon says she strives to keep busy and to focus on living life to the fullest. If there is one thing she hopes that people reading her story take with them, it is this: “Early detection really does save lives,” she says.
“If you feel that something is off, don’t be afraid to speak up. We must make our health a priority. It’s not selfish. When you take time for your health, you are doing your best to make sure you are as healthy as possible for all of those that depend on you.”
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