‘I Woke up From Surgery To Find Out I Had a Rare Form of Ovarian Cancer’: Olympic Gold Medalist Shannon Miller Shares Her Journey

At 34, Shannon Miller was the picture of perfect health. A former Olympic gymnast with seven medals to her name, in 2011, Miller was a new mother who didn't think she had time to go to her annual doctor's appointment.

"We know how important it is to get those regular important appointments. But a lot of times we don't make time for them, or maybe we're fearful of what the doctor might say," Millers told Parade. "There are so many reasons why we don't go. And I was one of those people. I was this Olympic athlete, a two-time gold medalist and yet I called up to cancel my appointment because I thought I felt healthy."

Luckily, as an advocate for health and fitness, Miller reconsidered because she didn't feel like she was walking the walk. "I thought better of it. I went in, and that morning I got the shock of my life."

A Rare Diagnosis

When Miller went to the standard annual checkup with her OB/GYN, she learned that she had a baseball-sized cyst on her left ovary. "After that, it was weeks of tests and scans. And then by January 2011, I was waking up from surgery to find out that I had a rare form of ovarian cancer [called 'germ cell']. I would need to go through pretty aggressive chemotherapy, but they had caught it early and the prognosis was good."

Now, Miller is celebrating 12 years cancer-free after being declared cancer-free in June of 2011. But she remembers that time as being extremely difficult, especially as she tried to care for her one-year-old son, Rocco.

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"There were two portions of my journey," she says. "There was the lead-up to surgery, which they call the 'wait-and-observe' period, which is excruciating. Because there are so many questions and so few answers. And here I was—I had been this elite athlete, my job was to know exactly what was going on with my body at all times. My body was the tool that I used to quite literally become the best in the world at something."

For that reason, Miller said, having this "thing" in her body that she didn't understand was extremely challenging: "That was so difficult mentally, psychologically. And then after that came the diagnosis, which was diagnosed at one stage first and then had a higher malignancy."

Once she started doing chemotherapy, Miller found she was faced with both a mental and a physical challenge. "I am so thankful for other women out there who gave me hope, who reached out to me and said, 'You can do this. Take it one step at a time.' I got so much great advice."

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Sharing Her Story With Others

Now, Miller is a fierce advocate of sharing her story with others, which is why she teamed up with Aflac for National Cancer Survivor's Month in June to encourage others to get their regular recommended checkups.

Even though her cancer journey is over a decade behind her now, Miller still makes sure to stay on top of her health. "For the first ten years, I had check-ups every six months," she says." And now I'm down to one year, which honestly makes me a little bit nervous because I like getting checked—I feel like a lot could change in a year. It's always a hard day for me mentally. Even after 12 years, you can't shake the feeling that it's going to come back."

Finally, Miller is doing her best to remind people that they are their own best health advocates. "We know our bodies better than anyone else," she says. "That may not mean we know everything, which is why we need to get to those doctors. But if you really feel like something isn't right, speak up and speak up often."

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She adds that if you don't trust a diagnosis you're given, you should feel free to get a second or third opinion. And if you're experiencing new or different symptoms, write them down. "This is one thing I've started doing because I didn't realize I had some of those primary ovarian cancer symptoms," she says. "I went in and told my doctor I felt fine, which was not helpful to him. Luckily, he found it anyway. But make sure to write it down stomachaches or other issues. Write down how long it's lasting so you can go to your physician and be very clear about what's going on.

Last but not least, Miller emphasizes, making time for those appointments is key. "There are so many other things going on in life and it's really easy to let those checkups and screenings slip by. So don't just put it on your list. Actually make it happen."

Next up: Cancer Survivor Elizabeth Benedict on the Motivational Mantra That Got Her Through Treatment