Innovating Cancer Support: A Patient-Driven Resource with Shannon Miller
Episode Summary
In this episode of The Cancer Project podcast, host David Raubach welcomes back Olympic gold medalist and ovarian cancer survivor Shannon Miller to discuss her latest endeavor: Salto Health, a first-of-its-kind cancer support registry platform. Drawing on nearly 15 years of advocacy work in the cancer space and her own grueling treatment experience, Shannon explains how she identified a persistent gap between what patients need and what caregivers know how to provide — and built a digital solution to bridge it.
The name “Salto” comes directly from gymnastics terminology — a salto is a somersault — and Shannon chose it to capture the disorienting moment of a cancer diagnosis, when a patient’s world is quite literally flipped upside down. But she frames it with equal optimism: just as a gymnast rights herself mid-air, a strong circle of support can help a patient regain footing. Saltohealth.com allows patients or caregivers to build a curated registry of products specifically selected for the cancer journey, covering everything from insulated hydration cups to skincare, wigs, anti-nausea aids, brain-fog games, and comfort items like cozy socks and blankets.
Shannon draws on a deeply personal moment to explain why hydration tools, for example, are far more than consumer goods in this context. During her own chemotherapy, she was unable to keep water down and was re-hospitalized within the first week of treatment, putting her entire course of care in jeopardy. That lived experience informs how every product on Salto Health is framed — not as retail items but as tools of survival and quality of life. The site also features a robust content hub explaining when and how to use each product across the full continuum: before, during, and after treatment.
One of the most innovative features Shannon describes is the starter bundle concept. Recognizing that newly diagnosed patients are overwhelmed and often don’t know what they’ll need, Salto Health pre-selects approximately 10–15 products most commonly needed during chemotherapy into curated bundles. These bundles give patients and caregivers a digestible starting point without wading through hundreds of items. Registries can be created in under three minutes, shared via social media or text, and updated week to week as the patient’s needs evolve.
The conversation also addresses the financial dimension of cancer survivorship. Shannon cites estimates that the non-medical out-of-pocket costs for cancer patients can range from $1,500 to $5,000 per person, contributing to a reality where nearly half of patients finish treatment carrying medical debt. By distributing those needs across a patient’s broader network — neighbors, co-workers, distant family — the registry model reduces financial pressure on the survivor while giving supporters a clear, meaningful way to act. Shannon also notes that Salto Health itself is free for patients to use and that the company plans to donate to nonprofits supporting cancer care.
What You’ll Learn in This Episode
- Salto Health Registry: A free online platform at saltohealth.com where cancer patients or caregivers can build a curated product registry — similar to a baby or wedding registry — so supporters know exactly what is needed during treatment.
- Origin of the Name “Salto”: A gymnastics term for a somersault, chosen by Shannon Miller to represent the disorienting flip a cancer diagnosis delivers — and the support network that helps a patient land upright.
- Full-Continuum Support: Salto Health is designed not just for active treatment but for the entire survivorship arc — before, during, and after — because needs do not end when a patient rings the bell.
- Curated Product Categories: The platform includes comfort items, hydration tools, nausea aids, skincare products, wigs, brain-fog activities (crosswords, Sudoku), and essential oils, all selected with the cancer journey in mind.
- Starter Bundles: Pre-built collections of approximately 10–15 products tailored to specific treatment types (e.g., chemotherapy) that give overwhelmed patients and caregivers a fast, digestible starting point.
- Content Hub: Alongside the registry, Salto Health offers educational content explaining what each product is for, when it is needed, and how to use it at each phase of the cancer journey.
- Financial Toxicity: Non-medical out-of-pocket cancer costs can reach $1,500–$5,000 per patient; the registry model distributes those costs across a wider support network, easing the financial burden on the survivor.
- Caregiver Empowerment: One of Shannon’s core insights is that caregivers desperately want to help but don’t know how; a registry replaces the vague offer of “let me know what you need” with a concrete, actionable list.
- Shannon’s Personal Motivation: After 15 years of post-cancer advocacy, Shannon consistently heard two questions: from patients, “I don’t know what I need,” and from caregivers, “I don’t know how to help.” Salto Health was built to answer both at once.
- Ease of Use: A patient can complete a Salto Health registry in under three minutes and share it via a link, Facebook post, or group text — reducing the logistical burden during an already overwhelming time.
- Non-Product Support: Beyond purchasing items, the platform also provides guidance on giving the gift of time — accompanying a patient to treatment, driving them to appointments, or simply sitting with them without needing to fix anything.
- Oklahoma Proton Center Partnership: Shannon is a partner and advocate for the Oklahoma Proton Center, which she praises for offering patients a guided, coordinated care experience during the often-disjointed world of cancer treatment.
Shannon Miller’s creation of Salto Health represents a natural evolution of her 15-year commitment to the cancer community — taking the two most common cries she heard from patients and caregivers and engineering a practical, scalable answer. Whether you are a newly diagnosed patient trying to figure out where to begin, a spouse searching for something meaningful to do, or a neighbor who simply wants to show up, Salto Health offers a clear path forward. Visit saltohealth.com to create or contribute to a registry, and follow along on social media. As Shannon and David both remind us, no one should have to navigate cancer alone — and with the right tools, no one has to.
Full Transcript
Read Full Transcript
David Raubach: I want to thank you for joining us on today’s episode of the Cancer Project podcast. We’re really privileged to be joined by Shannon Miller, Olympic gold medalist and cancer survivor, and she’s going to talk to us about all of the ways that she has been working to help cancer patients over the last year, including a really new innovative concept that I think is going to be really beneficial for patients going forward. So, Shannon, thank you for joining us.
Shannon Miller: Yeah, thank you so much for having me again.
David Raubach: So, before we get going, I have to ask because we’re just coming out of the Olympic season — did you get a chance to watch much of the Olympics?
Shannon Miller: I didn’t watch as much as I usually do, but I watched a lot of the highlights. It’s so much fun for me. I love the Olympics. I love getting to watch sports that you don’t always get to see in that four-year window, so just seeing different things was a lot of fun.
David Raubach: I’ve heard people describe the similarities between gymnastics and figure skating. Did you figure skate at all growing up, or would you say there are similarities?
Shannon Miller: I tried figure skating when I stopped gymnastics because I think as an Olympian you’re kind of like, okay, I’ve retired, but there’s got to be something else I could do, right? So I started figure skating, actually here in Oklahoma. And I really enjoyed it. It’s really, really hard. The landings in particular are really, really hard — a lot harder than a nice foam pit. But you do gain an appreciation for every sport. Even coming from a very physical, very Olympic background, it was like, I can’t do this. I don’t know how they do it.
David Raubach: And then the falls — even at the highest level of competition, they’re falling. They’re trying to land quad spins now. Falling on ice is tough.
Shannon Miller: It’s tough, but it’s beautiful. I love watching figure skating. It’s just gorgeous.
David Raubach: I think one of the things that I really get behind and what makes the Olympics so much fun to watch is just the team camaraderie — seeing these people who have obviously spent much of their life training for this one moment, but they’ve done it together. They seem genuinely excited for each other as they’re competing.
Shannon Miller: I love that, and I love the stories of trials and triumph and what people have to work through, because sports are so much a metaphor for life. We’re going to fall, and you have to get back up and find that next forward step. When you watch their stories, it kind of gives you that idea — okay, I can get back up, too.
David Raubach: So that’s a good segue, because you have a new website that you’re launching — or when this goes live, it may have launched already — called Salto. Before we get into what the website is, tell us where the name came from.
Shannon Miller: Salto — S-A-L-T-O — is basically a somersault in gymnastics. When I was trying to figure out a name, I thought, what was that feeling I felt when I found out I had cancer? It was that my world turned upside down. Everything was different. I thought “Salto” — it’s that flip, that moment where your stomach drops and you go, what do I do next? But Salto can also be spun in a positive way, because yes, your world gets flipped upside down, but it’s the people around you, your circle of support, that can help right-side that for you.
David Raubach: So describe what the website is.
Shannon Miller: Salto Health is a website where you can go and create a registry. Think of a baby registry or a wedding registry — obviously very different reasons — but with this you get to create a support registry. As a caregiver you can do this for a survivor that you love. You go on, you create this registry, and we have highly curated products that can be used during survivorship. This is not just for treatment. It’s before, during, and after treatment, because survivorship doesn’t end when you ring the bell. It continues, and so that support should also continue.
David Raubach: Describe some of the products. You went through cancer — ovarian cancer — and you went through surgery and chemotherapy. What are some examples of what people might expect to find on the website?
Shannon Miller: I went into treatment thinking I was doing what I was supposed to, and by the end of the first week I was back in the hospital. I could not stay hydrated because I couldn’t keep down water. I got so behind the curve from the beginning that we weren’t sure if I would be able to finish treatment. So when I think about these products, it’s not just “oh, that’s a cup.” This is an insulated cup that keeps your beverage cold or hot, but this is the cup that you’re going to take with you to chemo. It’s going to be your friend all day, every day because it holds the hydration you need so you can continue feeling your best and help keep that nausea under control. A cup is no longer just a cup.
Shannon Miller: We do have all kinds of products — they range from comfort items like cozy socks, blankets, and essential oils, to things that help with nausea, things that help with brain fog like brain games, crosswords, and Sudoku. We have items that help with skin care issues, hair loss, wigs — all of those items. And we have a huge content hub. It’s not just about having the items there, but it’s also how do you use these items? What are they needed for? What do I need at this phase in the journey?
Shannon Miller: But the most important part is the registry, because we know that the non-medical spend for cancer patients can be between $1,500 and $5,000 per person. If you spread that around to loved ones who so desperately want to help — and we’ve all been in that position where someone goes through a health battle and you want to help but often don’t know how — the registry gives you the “how.” It’s very specific. Instead of thinking, do I bring flowers? Do I make food? What’s on the list is what is desperately needed, and you can help in a very meaningful way.
David Raubach: I like the registry concept because I think about a baby registry or a wedding registry. When you have a wedding, you’ve got a bunch of people saying they want to celebrate with you, they want to get you a gift. If I had to tell every single person individually what to get, that would get overwhelming — in the context of also planning a wedding. Similarly, going through cancer treatment, you’re so focused on treatment. You’ve got all these people asking if they can help, and if you have to direct each one individually, it’s a lot. And people do want to help.
Shannon Miller: And that’s the thing. When you’re going through a diagnosis, the mental, physical, emotional, logistical, and financial burden you’re taking on every single day is a lot. You don’t need people to add to it. So when someone meaning well says, “Let me know how I can help,” it’s adding one more chore for you. Instead, this is just saying: here’s my registry. Thank you so much — if you’d like to support, this would be a great way to do it.
David Raubach: One of the things I really like — you showed me the demonstration of the website — is that if you’re going into treatment up front, there are a lot of things you don’t even know you need yet. You talked about the content hub, but you’ve also created some predefined groups of gifts. Talk about that.
Shannon Miller: I tried to remember that when I went through it, I was not a doctor. I was a survivor who got thrown into this knowing nothing about what I would need for chemotherapy. So I thought, let’s do starter bundles. If you know you’re going into chemotherapy, not every chemo is the same, but we’ve taken about 10 or 15 items that are typically needed — for nausea, brain fog, comfort, more specific items — and listed those. That way you have an easy way to get started. It takes the already-curated world of products down to maybe 15. So it’s just digestible. And you can always add, you can always change, because from week to week the way you feel is going to change — and that’s okay.
David Raubach: And that also helps the caregiver know where to start — a husband watching his wife go through treatment, a wife watching her husband, kids, parents, whatever the situation.
Shannon Miller: It does. And when you think about loved ones that want to help, it’s not just immediate family. It’s neighbors, co-workers, friends, family that can’t be there in the same state but want to show support. They can go on and get a registry item. And every time an item shows up on the doorstep, that survivor knows that someone was thinking about them. Knows they are not alone in this. It’s that comfort of a little less isolation — someone was thinking about me.
Shannon Miller: I felt it with my mother when she was going through her first diagnosis. I had no idea how to help. I would do anything to help, but I couldn’t cure cancer. I didn’t know what I could do. To have something like this would have shown me, okay, these are the typical things — you can start here. But we also talk about other ways to help, because it’s not just about products. It’s about time. Sometimes just sitting in the same room with the survivor, not having to fix anything, not having to talk about it — just being there is really important. Just listening. Maybe going into a treatment with them or driving them. So there are also tips about how you can help even without purchasing products.
David Raubach: I like that you mentioned time, because most people have at least one of time or money. And I like the fact that this is almost a way to let people know what you’re going through. Some people find it difficult to even talk about the fact that they have cancer, and this is maybe a mechanism to say: this is what I’m going through. You may not be aware, but this is my reality.
Shannon Miller: It is a way, and it’s hard to have those conversations individually with 25 different people. So this is also a mechanism for just connecting. I see this as a tool to connect two groups: what do I need, and how can I help? Salto bridges those parties. It’s a win for everybody, because you feel good when you help in whatever way you can, and the survivor feels good not just because someone was thinking of them, but because they’re getting something very much needed for what they’re going through.
David Raubach: So what was your motivation for doing this, Shannon? What did you see that was maybe missing, or was there a personal experience that led you to creating this website?
Shannon Miller: I’ve really worked in the cancer space for the last 15 years. I’m coming up on my 15-year anniversary of being cancer-free.
David Raubach: Oh, that’s amazing. Wow.
Shannon Miller: For me, it was constantly going and speaking or talking with survivors and caregivers, and being inundated with questions — and a lot of the same questions I had myself. But the two I kept hearing most were from survivors: “I don’t know what I need,” and from caregivers: “I don’t know how to help. I can’t cure cancer.” Those weighed on me, and last summer I just thought it’s time to do something about it. I started thinking about different models, and I thought of a registry. What better way to connect the two parties and get people what they need? It also frees up the financial side — when you spread the costs across a broader network, you no longer have survivors choosing between paying the light bill and getting three months of Ensure they need. People are in really tight spots trying to figure out how to afford gas to get to treatments each week. When you ease that financial burden while allowing people to help, it’s a win-win for everyone.
David Raubach: Yeah, I think nearly 50% of patients are in medical debt when they finish treatment. Financial toxicity is a huge burden. So if somebody wants to access the website or sign up as a patient and they’re listening to this, how would they do that?
Shannon Miller: It’s saltohealth.com. You can go directly there. We’re on social media as well. I welcome people to take a look. We tried to make it as easy as possible — you can fill out a registry in under three minutes and get going. And then the biggest thing is just sharing that link with others. We’ve had people put it on Facebook, send it out to loved ones and neighbors. You know, there’s always one neighbor who has the text chain that can reach everybody. Find that one person.
David Raubach: And there’s no cost for a patient to go on and create a registry.
Shannon Miller: Zero cost. And Salto Health itself accepts no donations. Instead, Salto Health will be donating to nonprofits, because we want nonprofits to be able to continue doing the good work that they’re doing.
David Raubach: That’s amazing. So saltohealth.com — that’s how patients can sign up to create a registry and then share that link with family and loved ones or post it on Facebook or wherever. Before we go, I have to ask you one more thing. We have been very fortunate to have you as a partner with us at the Oklahoma Proton Center. Just talk a little bit about that experience and what it has meant to you.
Shannon Miller: It’s been so great. What I love about the Proton Center is just making sure we get the word out. Early detection is so important. But if something is detected, getting into the right place at the right time can make all the difference. I love the way you all walk patients through every step of the process, because a lot of times it can feel disjointed — who do I go to for this, who do I go to for that? It feels very much like one-stop shopping, and it’s so helpful. You’re thrown into this new world with a new vocabulary, worried about your future, worried about your kids, worried about everything — and to have someone take your hand and say “we’ve got you” is just a huge difference.
David Raubach: I appreciate you saying that, and that’s why we’re excited to partner with you on something like this. We know we offer fantastic treatment at the Proton Center — amazing technology and amazing doctors — but there’s so much more that goes into the cancer journey. We don’t have everything in-house, and having tools like what you’re creating to provide this conduit for patients, to make their experience just a little bit better as they go through treatment, is so important. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Shannon. I really appreciate it.
Shannon Miller: It’s quality of life — not just after the fact, but during the journey as well. Thank you so much for having me.
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