David Raubach: Thank you for joining us today on this episode of the Cancer Project podcast. We’re really excited and privileged to have Shannon Miller with us today. Many of you may know her as a gold medal gymnast — she was in the Olympics in 1992 and 1996, an Oklahoma legend — but she is also a cancer survivor. We’re going to talk about her experience with survivorship, some of the things she’s doing today to advocate for cancer screening and awareness, and the challenges that come with journeying through that survivorship process. Shannon, thank you so much for joining us today.

Shannon Miller: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me.

David Raubach: We have ovarian cancer awareness month top of mind, and that was clearly the type of cancer you had. For listeners who aren’t familiar with that part of your story, tell us a little about your experience with ovarian cancer.

Shannon Miller: I was diagnosed in 2011, but I would say my journey really started in late 2010. That year had been a great year — I had launched my company devoted to women’s health, ironically, and I was even doing a radio show before podcasts were huge. We were talking about cancer awareness, early detection, how important it is to get to those doctor’s appointments. And it was about that time I looked at my calendar and saw I had to be out of town for work on the date of my next OBGYN appointment. I was absolutely going to cancel and postpone the exam. As I got on the phone, I was put on hold — and during those few moments I thought, “I’m not walking the walk here. I’m an advocate for women’s health and I’m not doing the thing I’m asking of others.” So I ended up taking an available appointment that morning, and it was that appointment that my doctor found a baseball-sized cyst on my left ovary. That sent me into a whirlwind of tests and scans, and by January of 2011 I was waking up from surgery to find out it was ovarian cancer.

David Raubach: Wow. And how old were you at this time?

Shannon Miller: I was 33. And a new mom — our son had just turned a year old that fall.

David Raubach: You’re in peak physical condition, you’re an advocate for health and wellness, and suddenly you have this unbelievable, life-altering medical event. What were those first emotions like?

Shannon Miller: Your world just stops. Everything is turned upside down. You’re dealing with the emotional, the psychological, the physical — all at once — and there are so many questions and so few answers. As an athlete, my job was to know everything going on with my body. You don’t fly ten or fifteen feet in the air and not know. So this was a wakeup call that I wasn’t listening to my body anymore. I was busy taking care of my son and focused on my work. I wasn’t paying attention to the stomach aches, the bloating, the weight loss — I chalked those up to female issues, body-after-baby, just crazy things. One of the biggest lessons from that time was to listen to your body and speak up when something doesn’t feel right. And also: you don’t know what you don’t know. So reach out, get information, ask questions, and don’t be afraid to ask them.

Shannon Miller: I used to go into a doctor’s office, say I felt fine, and move on — forgetting the issues I’d had or feeling that natural intimidation of, well, they have a lot going on, I don’t need to ask. Now I come in with my list of questions, I sit there, I ask them, and I feel so much better — more informed about my health. I always encourage everyone, but especially women, to write those questions down before you go in, because once you put on that paper gown you will not remember what you wanted to ask.

David Raubach: At our cancer center at the Oklahoma Proton Center, we talk a lot about patients being their own best advocates. That’s really true. What were some very practical steps you took through the treatment process to feel a little more ownership over what was happening?

Shannon Miller: The first several weeks of “wait and observe” were excruciating, because there’s really not much you can do. There’s no routine test for ovarian cancer, so we were still in the dark. I felt like I had no control — I was walking around a little bit like a zombie, just wondering. Well-meaning friends would say, “It’s going to be okay,” and inside I’d think, “But how do you know? If the doctors don’t know, how do you?” After I was diagnosed, it was almost — in an odd way — a little bit of a relief. They had already taken out the tumor at diagnosis, and when I learned I’d need to go through chemotherapy, my mentality shifted. I reverted to that competitive mindset I knew so well in sport. I had a goal. My oncologist was very clear: get through chemo without stopping, and that gives you the best chance of non-recurrence. That’s when I started focusing on hydration, protein, getting as healthy as possible before chemo started, the mental side, and my faith. I was suddenly participating again.

David Raubach: Was the pathway of surgery and then chemotherapy pretty typical for ovarian cancer?

Shannon Miller: There are so many different types of ovarian cancer, so it really depends. The tough thing is that ovarian cancer is so often caught at a later stage because there is no routine exam and the symptoms can seem so benign — a stomach ache, bloating, sudden weight loss. These are not things that make you think, “Oh, I might have cancer.” That’s what makes it so hard, and why we want to create so much awareness and really drive home the importance of regular doctor’s appointments so you have that baseline — so when something feels off, you notice.

David Raubach: Looking back, what were some of the signs that somebody today might recognize as a reason to get checked out?

Shannon Miller: I had bloating — I remember specifically this favorite skirt that just would not zip up. I had lost about eight pounds that month, which was significant, and I thought it was baby weight. But I’d lost all this weight and still couldn’t zip that skirt. I had some pretty bad stomach aches, but I thought stress, dehydration, launching a new company and having just had a baby — a lot going on. I encourage women: talk to your physician. Write things down. If you have something odd going on — stomach aches, bloating, anything — write it down, and if it’s happening for more than two weeks, go talk to your doctor.

David Raubach: If symptoms are presenting, are you going to an OBGYN or a primary care physician?

Shannon Miller: I always think it’s important to see your primary physician because you want to create that baseline — and we’re not just talking ovarian cancer, we’re talking heart disease, diabetes, everything. If we’re having regular visits, we know which areas to work on. It’s like coaching: if my coach doesn’t tell me what to work on, I can’t get better. And then your OBGYN for those regular pap tests for cervical cancer and general checkups. Mine was found on a pelvic exam. Without that appointment, things might be very different.

David Raubach: Is it typical for ovarian cancer to present in someone’s 30s? What’s the age range?

Shannon Miller: I want to be careful — I’m not a physician — but there are so many different types of ovarian cancer, and I’ve met 19-year-olds with the same type I had. Decades ago we might have thought of it as an older person’s disease, but we have to think about it at every age. The way I look at it: if something is there, if something goes wrong — whether it’s cancer, heart disease, diabetes — I want to know at the earliest possible stage, because that’s when you have the most choices.

David Raubach: What was it like going through chemotherapy?

Shannon Miller: I don’t think that’s anything we would ever wish on anyone. And I think people need to know there are so many different types of chemo. My experience was not my father-in-law’s experience — he was going through Stage 4 colon cancer treatment at the same time and he was never sick a single day. I was sick all the time. He had neuropathy in his feet; I had it in my hands. We said, “Together we make one really good person.” I came in thinking, okay, I used to work out 40-plus hours a week, I can do this — and I was humbled. The fatigue is not “I’m tired today.” It’s every limb weighing a thousand pounds. How do I lift my arm to brush my teeth? How do I slide to the edge of the bed to stand up? I’ve never felt anything like it. I was back in the hospital within five days of my first infusion because I could not keep down food or water, and they tried every nausea medication they could think of.

Shannon Miller: That was also when I started to relearn the lesson of team. In the beginning I tried to keep people at arm’s length — I’m fine, I’ll do this myself, I don’t want to be a burden. At my lowest moment I thought, I can do a full-twisting double back, but I do not know how to do this. That’s when I really started to think about my care team, my medical team, friends, family, neighbors — people who desperately wanted to help and just needed to know how. There is strength not only in accepting help but in asking for it when it’s needed.

David Raubach: It’s okay to ask for help. It takes that whole extended family to get through something like a cancer diagnosis. Talk a little about navigating being a mom, a wife, extended family — your father-in-law going through treatment at the same time. How were you managing those responsibilities while in treatment?

Shannon Miller: It’s so hard. I was very fortunate that I had my son — he’s what I got up for in the morning. He’s what gave me the energy to keep finding that next forward step. Being able to appreciate the help — people coming over and taking him for a couple of hours so I could nap without feeling like a horrible mom for taking that nap — that was hard. The mental struggle of “I should be working, I should be with my son, I should be doing fifteen thousand other things, but I just can’t” — and really coming to the understanding that the best thing I can do at this moment is take care of my health, because that’s what produces the best result in the end.

Shannon Miller: As I talk to survivors across the country, one of the things they battle most is when the bell rings. When treatment is over, a lot of people in your life exhale, and then it’s “Okay, we’re back to normal, let’s go.” As the patient, you’re not 100%. You still might have nausea, fatigue — all of those things. My hair was still gone. Things don’t change overnight. And yet sometimes the expectation — by the patient ourselves, by co-workers, by friends and family — is that it’s a sigh of relief and we’re done. You have to give yourself grace and understand it’s a process, a journey, not a sprint. Each day it will get a little bit better, but it won’t happen overnight, and that’s okay.

David Raubach: Talk about what it was like going back for your first follow-up scan — that anxiety patients describe around “now we’ll see if this all worked.”

Shannon Miller: It’s tough. Every scan brings all the questions: Is it still there? Did it come back? Am I going to be thrown back into this? For me it was definitely harder initially, and then I kind of wrapped my brain around how I was going to work with the scans. Even 14 years out, it’s still a day I take entirely off. I plan the day off. I try to get the appointment earlier in the day, I have my prayer in the morning, I go to my exam, I come home and usually just drop — take a nap. By the time the kids come home from school I’m back and ready to go. But it takes a lot out of you mentally and emotionally. I always share that it’s so important to prepare yourself mentally and emotionally — not for bad news, but for taking on whatever challenge is coming your way. You pray for the best, but understand you can handle whatever comes, and you don’t have to do it alone, because your team will be there with you.

David Raubach: I’ve heard you talk about applying the athlete approach of incremental improvement to getting through chemotherapy — there was a story about taking steps in the living room. Can you share that?

Shannon Miller: Goal setting is such a big part of my life. My coach started us with understanding long-term and short-term goals and the importance of those baby steps — those incremental steps are how you really reach the bigger goal. During chemo, a lot of days it was: today’s goal is get up, get dressed, walk two times around the dining room table. And if I did that, that’s my win. Some days it was a ten-minute walk. That’s great. This was not training for a gold medal. This was: what would be my win for today? What’s going to get me that much closer to getting through chemotherapy without stopping? I plan for what my goal is each day when I wake up, each week, each month, each year — and those incremental steps are how you get there.

David Raubach: I love that. I use that story in our new patient orientation at the Proton Center — it may literally just be walking around the living room table. Set that as a goal, do it, and feel really good about yourself that you accomplished it. And the goals haven’t been lowered — they’ve just changed.

Shannon Miller: Exactly. A lot of people going through a diagnosis are used to really big goals and accomplishing a lot every day. They feel like they’re lowering their goals. You’re not lowering them — your goals have just changed. And there’s a mental health aspect to that too. There’s something positive and fulfilling about setting a goal and then accomplishing it, even a small one.

David Raubach: Talk a little about how you approached the mental health side of getting through treatment and survivorship.

Shannon Miller: The mental health standpoint is so important. There is so much research on the mental side of recovery, successful outcomes, better outcomes, quality of life. When I say “positive mindset,” I do not mean putting a smile on your face and pretending everything is fine. We need to have that pity party. We need to have the real emotions and find the coping mechanisms to work with all of the challenges. Whether it’s prayer, meditation, or anything else — it’s different for each person, but there’s so much support out there. Whether it’s your nurse navigator, your care team, there’s support available. Take advantage of it. And it is okay to say, “I’m not okay.” It’s okay to cry. It’s okay to be upset or angry. Let those emotions come out.

David Raubach: Fast-forwarding over the decade-plus since treatment — do you feel like there was almost a reason you went through cancer? Like this is the second segment of your life?

Shannon Miller: I feel like it’s an extension of the things I was already doing with women’s health. There were so many women in my life who put their health on the back burner while focused on family or work or a million other things, and that spoke to me. Anyone who knew me growing up knows I was incredibly shy — painfully shy. The idea that I would now go around the country talking about my ovaries was not on my life plan. But during treatment, when the news about my diagnosis went public, I was inundated with notes, emails, letters from women and families sharing their own diagnoses, challenges, and tips — skincare, wigs, giving yourself grace. I thought: I have this voice that gymnastics gave me, and I want to use it for something good. And here it is. As a caregiver when my mother went through cancer, and as a patient myself — being embraced by the cancer community just feels like where my heart is.

David Raubach: What are some things you’re excited about in how we approach cancer, and conversely what would you like to see the oncology community do better?

Shannon Miller: I’ve been amazed by the entire cancer community — early detection, research, survivorship, all of it. Even just over the last 15 years, we now say the word “ovary.” There’s not that stigma anymore. We talk about ovarian cancer openly, the same way things changed when breast cancer became openly discussed. There’s just more awareness. I do caution people to be careful about internet searches and AI — use discretion about your sources. But there is so much happening on the medical side. We’re looking for a routine test for ovarian cancer, and I cannot wait for the day that arrives. There’s so much more testing, screening, and opportunity to catch things early now than ever before. Taking the fear out of getting checkups, creating the awareness of what patients can ask and do so they feel like their own best advocates — that’s so important. And physicians and nurses have done such a great job getting to the patient’s level. I didn’t come in with a medical vocabulary. I needed someone to explain things in language I could understand. Nurse coordinators and navigators are so important in that role.

David Raubach: What I hear you describing sounds like a holistic, integrated approach to care — mind, body, and soul — combining traditional treatments like proton therapy, chemotherapy, and surgery with what we’re learning about how the body’s own immune system helps fight cancer alongside those interventions.

Shannon Miller: It’s a team approach. Fighting cancer is a team sport, and everyone has an important role to play. And the integration is so much more present now than it was 14 years ago — even on the non-medical side, the mental and emotional support available now is so much greater.

David Raubach: What advice would you give to a spouse whose significant other has just been diagnosed? What did your husband do well, and where might there be room to do better?

Shannon Miller: I love that you’re asking this — I’m actually working on a project focused on exactly this, though I can’t talk about it yet. When a loved one says to a patient, “Let me know how I can help,” that’s a very nice sentiment — we all do it — but now the patient has to deal with all their challenges and also find a job for you to do so you can feel better. It’s just another piece of the mental load they have to carry. When my mother was going through cancer, I felt helpless. I was trying to buy her saltines. That was the last thing she needed. And then when I went through it and people were giving me saltines, I thought, “Oh my gosh, what did I do to my mom?” You feel like you can’t cure cancer — you can’t take it away — so what do you do? We need to do a better job bridging the gap between what patients truly need and how caregivers can step in. Anything you do will help: clean the house so that during those few hours the patient feels up to doing something, instead of cleaning they can actually spend quality time with their kids. Walk the dog. Sit with them during chemo. Read a book together. Send a message during the day saying “we’ve got you.” There is nothing too small you can do to show support.

David Raubach: I’ve heard it described as just being present — being aware, observant, willing to listen. Think about everything your spouse normally does each day, know that for a period of time she’s not going to be able to do those things, and step in. Even as a caregiver, don’t be afraid to ask for help yourself.

Shannon Miller: Exactly. And caregivers are carrying so much too — possibly now the only income in the family. So even as a caregiver, ask for help. Just, you know, do the laundry the way it’s normally done. This is not the time to invent a more efficient system and brag about your innovation. Not the time. And be careful — if you do, you might be doing laundry that way for the rest of your life.

David Raubach: You posted on Instagram recently about speaking with Jay Bilas at an event. Talk about your national speaking — especially for someone who said they were painfully shy growing up.

Shannon Miller: When I retired from Olympic competition and was at OU, I really withdrew. I was so shy and didn’t know anyone, and it’s hard to get to know people when you’re this Olympian and it feels awkward. I thought: I’ve got to come out of my shell. And the scariest thing I could think of was speaking in front of people. I worked on it a bit and finally jumped in. But I never really felt comfortable being asked to speak about myself as an athlete — I wasn’t comfortable with that. Through the cancer experience, I realized I didn’t have to speak about myself. I was trying to help people. When I made that mental shift — from “I have to talk about me” to “I’m talking to others about an experience that might help them” — it became so much easier. After treatment it still took everything out of me. I would speak for 45 minutes and then go sleep for 14 hours. But it got easier the further out I got. Now my husband says I won’t stop talking.

David Raubach: One of the things I’ve noticed about public figures who are willing to talk about their cancer diagnosis is that it gives people not in the public limelight the courage — that last little push — to talk about what they’re going through. You’ve been able to do that for people.

Shannon Miller: I’ve only been able to do it because so many others did it before me and showed me the way. When you can talk to 200 people, or a thousand, or do an interview that reaches a million people, you’re getting that information out there — and that’s what we want. Cancer doesn’t care who you are, where you’re from, or how many gold medals you have. Cancer is something we all have to fight, because it is going to touch all of our lives at some point.

David Raubach: You’ve been very transparent about losing your hair — actually sharing videos of having your head shaved as it was starting to fall out. How difficult was that, and why are you willing to share those videos now?

Shannon Miller: I have like the same five photos of me bald — that was it. Okay, take your pictures, and then be done with it. My doctor told me I’d lose my hair in the first couple weeks on my treatment, and oh, I did. I thought I was prepared. “It’ll grow back, I’m not going to worry about it.” But it’s not fear — it’s a feeling of losing your identity when you look in the mirror and you don’t recognize the person looking back. No hair, no eyelashes, no eyebrows, skin so pale. Your inclination is to see this as a symbol of sickness. What I had to do every single day was look in the mirror and remind myself: this is not a symbol of sickness. This is a symbol that I’m doing everything I can to get and stay healthy. This is a strength. This is my forward step. And it became a little more empowering when I could remind myself of that.

Shannon Miller: I did wear wigs, especially for public events, because going bald would take the focus off what I was there for. But there are some photos where the wig was not exactly on straight. And I’d walk my son to the coffee shop — some days in full hair and makeup for an on-camera event, the next day no wig, no makeup. You get the looks. And then you realize people really don’t care. They know you’re going through something and they’re kind about it. And honestly, I was too tired and too nauseous to care, and that in its own way was a little empowering — being able to look at small things I used to worry about and just think: that does not matter.

David Raubach: Patients talk about that moment — when you’re willing to walk out of the house and go into public knowing you’re going to see people and you have no hair. What are your goals for the next year or two?

Shannon Miller: I always have goals in different areas. Each year I try to learn at least two new things — completely random, personal to me. Last year I got my boater’s license. This year I was going to relearn golf, but I think that’ll get tabled because this project I’m working on is going to be my new thing. I always want to keep my brain going — I still feel the effects of chemo brain and have never quite come back to 100%, so I focus on that. Work-wise, I’m continuing to speak across the country. I talk about cancer and women’s health, but I also speak corporately on the gold medal mindset — goal setting, teamwork, positive mindset, leadership, and resiliency. And family-wise, I’ve got one that’s about to start driving, so I’ve got that going on. Really just being present with my kids, because man, they’re getting old.

David Raubach: Speaking of gold medals — you’re still involved with the Olympic community, and tonight you’re the keynote speaker at our Proton Palace Foundation fundraising dinner. We have ten gymnasts from the national championship-winning University of Oklahoma gymnastics team who were absolutely ecstatic to come and meet you.

Shannon Miller: They’re incredible, and it’s been fun watching them. It’s amazing how far gymnastics has come, especially collegiate gymnastics. I never got to be a college gymnast. Now, with the rule change, there are so many more gymnasts who can do both the elite and the college route, and that’s so good to see.

David Raubach: Any last words for somebody who is going through cancer right now?

Shannon Miller: The most important thing to remember is that you are never in this alone. Find your team. Ask questions. And know that there really is strength in seeking support. People are there to help — so it’s okay to let them.

David Raubach: Thank you so much, Shannon. I know you are very passionate about the cancer community, and we are very passionate here at the Cancer Project about cancer patients and seeing people not just survive but thrive during and after treatment. We have that joint mission for people here in Oklahoma and across the country. Thank you again so much for joining us today.

Shannon Miller: Absolutely. Thanks for having me.