I was nearly too busy to save my own life

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The doctor didn’t sugar coat it. He looked me in the eye and said bluntly, "I’ve discovered a cyst on your left ovary." A baseball sized cyst. In my gymnastics career, I had taken many hard falls and suffered many painful injuries like a broken and dislocated elbow and a torn stomach muscle, but never had I felt such a shock to my body as when I heard my doctor’s words.  

I had almost skipped this visit with my gynecologist that morning in December 2010. My days were no longer filled with chalk dust and sweat. Having traveled a long and arduous road, I had found my passion as an advocate for women’s health.  

My mission was (and still is) to help women make their health a priority. But was I listening to my own advice and that of the experts, doctors, nurses and survivors I had met and interviewed during those years?  

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Even though I knew the importance of keeping my scheduled wellness appointment, I had called my doctor to cancel. Postpone it until the next year. Like everyone, I was constantly pulled in many directions between work, caring for our young son and a million other little things.  

Shannon Miller led the 1996 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team, dubbed the "Magnificent Seven," to its first team gold medal in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. She is shown here holding her many medals. 

I was too busy to even acknowledge what I later found out were symptoms of a larger issue — occasional stomach aches, bloating and sudden weight loss. I chalked them up to benign issues or body changes after having my son.  

While on hold with my doctor’s office, I felt a pang of guilt. I had built an actual business, after all, encouraging women to be more attentive to their own health by doing things like … well, like keeping medical appointments.  

The pang became an urgent voice inside my head, "Don’t delay!" I took the next available appointment. Cyst. Tests. Ultrasounds. Surgery.    

It was cancer — a rare form of ovarian cancer.  

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But they had caught it early. I was lucky. Ahead lay a rigourous course of chemotherapy and a serious block of recovery time. That diagnosis was 12 years ago, and today I am cancer-free and enjoying life as an entrepreneur, wife and mother. 

During this National Cancer Survivor’s Month, I can’t help but think of all the women who are foregoing medical screenings. Early in my treatment, I vowed to focus on helping others make their health a priority and to get those regular exams and screenings.  

We need the reminder.  

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A recent Aflac poll revealed that one in four respondents have skipped a regular checkup, and remarkably, one in two admit to having skipped a common health screening like a Pap smear, mammogram or colonoscopy.  

My mission was (and still is) to help women make their health a priority. But was I listening to my own advice and that of the experts, doctors, nurses and survivors I had met and interviewed during those years?  

At the same time, half of those diagnosed said such screenings were how they discovered their cancer. A Gallup poll notes that nearly four of 10 Americans said they had put off care in 2022 because of cost, the highest number since Gallup started asking people about delaying care more than 20 years ago.  

Because many cancers are most effectively treated early, screenings lower cancer deaths dramatically.  

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My health issue has only increased my focus on reminding myself and others to get those regularly scheduled health care visits. We must make the time.  

One of the best lessons I have learned from my journey is understanding that if I don’t make my own health a priority, I cannot be here for all of those who depend on me. It is not selfish to focus on your personal health. Making time for that appointment might just save your life.