America’s Most Decorated Gymnast and Ovarian Cancer Survivor

Background:  A few years ago, after giving birth to her first child, Rocco, Shannon Miller was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. After surgery to remove the baseball-sized tumor and her left ovary, she went through a grueling nine-week chemotherapy regimen. She then dealt with the reality that a second child may not be a possibility, but more than two years after the diagnosis, Shannon and her husband are preparing to welcome their baby girl this June.

Shannon Miller is not only a cancer survivor and mom. You most likely remember her as the darling gymnast with the pony tail who has had one of the finest careers in American gymnastics history. In 1992 and 1996, she won seven overall Olympic medals, and she has also won nine World Championship medals. She is America’s most decorated gymnast.

Shannon Says:

As an Olympian and mom, I am fortunate to have a seemingly unending supply of fight in me, but that did not come without a lot of training, dedication, planning, and experience to combat each and every challenge that has come my way – whether in athletic competition, as a patient, or as a mom. 

What I learned through gymnastics was that we are all going to fall on our backside a time or two. We are all going to face challenges in our lives, whether it’s a major illness, a new job or the many everyday tasks we have to achieve. The most important thing is how we rise to meet those challenges.

Handling pressure and adversity is about understanding the things that you can control. For me, it came down to preparation. Each and every day, moms actively plan for the eventualities that may come their family’s way. Moms are natural fighters—we prepare, dig in, and do the work.  We create a game plan. We formulate goals. We accept support and keep communication open amongst our team, but most importantly we actively educate ourselves to make the best possible decisions regarding our family’s health and future.

My husband and I decided to bank Rocco’s cord blood after researching the topic and discovering the amazing healing potential umbilical cord blood stem cells had, treating otherwise untreatable diseases—and that was almost 4 years ago. Today, more than 80 diseases are being treated with the stem cells collected from umbilical cord blood and the number is going to continue to grow.  When it comes to treatment, if stem cell transplant is an option, then we want to have the option. Having battled a rare form of ovarian cancer myself, I understand more than ever that our health must be a priority. If there is something I can do today that could help my children down the road, like banking our children’s cord blood, then I’m going to do it.

Having cancer has taught me so much about myself, my health and my life. I wrote Competing with Cancer and partnered with StemCyte, a cord blood bank in California, to share what I’ve learned on my journey and the importance of preparation and planning a family’s health.