Olympic Gymnast Shannon Miller Discusses Fighting for Her Life

Nowadays, Miller is retired from Olympic competition. However, she remains a part of the gymnastics and Olympic communities as an analyst and commentator. She is also an advocate for women’s health and travels all around the country, telling her cancer story and inspiring women to take care of themselves. “I use whatever voice I have from my Olympic career to encourage women to keep medical appointments, get more sleep, eat right, get and stay fit, and recognize the signs and symptoms of cancer” she said. Miller finds that reaching out to other women and finding stories of hope is something that all women can benefit from – just knowing that they are not alone.

She has partnered with the pharmaceutical company, TESARO, to promote the “Our Way Forward” campaign. The campaign is intended to help other women educate themselves on ovarian cancer by providing them with resources as they move through diagnosis and treatment. It also helps the patients’ loved ones and doctors to work through issues that arise post-treatment. Miller is also working with the “Know Pelvic Mass” campaign, which is dedicated to educating women on their risk for ovarian cancer.

In honor of National Cancer Survivors Day, Miller spoke at a cancer survivors’ reunion. “We are all at a different place in our journey, but we can learn something from every story. Learning more and being around other survivors or reading about them is important because it gives you hope. The more we can do to create awareness the better, so we are catching cancer earlier when there are more options for treatment” she said.