Laughing last

Okie Olympian Shannon Miller spreads the gospel of the good stuff

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In our minds, she’s still the petite Edmond native and seven-time Olympic medalist who anchored the U.S. women’s gymnastics team in the 1992 and 1996 Olympic games. She’s the teen who spent eight years in the spotlight as the face of American gymnastics, carrying the weight of the world and feeling the pressure of an entire nation.

That’s nothing compared to Shannon Miller’s accomplishments since the Magnificent Seven’s historic run at the team gold in Atlanta. In recent years, she’s added a few lines to her résumé: business owner, author, commentator, health advocate, mother and cancer survivor, just to name a few.

Four years ago, with a one-year-old son at home and a fledgling company just opening its doors, Miller visited her doctor for a routine exam. That day, her doctor discovered a baseball-sized cyst on her left ovary. In the coming months, she underwent major surgery and nine weeks of intense chemotherapy.

Miller treated the Voice to a phone date before she visited Tulsa Saturday, March 28 for Celebrating the Art of Healing: Finding Balance in 2015. The free symposium at St. John Medical Center was sponsored by St. John, St. Francis Hospice, Cancer Treatment Centers of America and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

The Tulsa Voice: Do you ever just sit on the couch and watch TV?

Shannon Miller: I feel like it’s okay to watch TV if I’m folding laundry. That’s my out. I love “Scorpion” and any of the “NCIS” shows.

TTV: You’re one of the most decorated athletes in the state’s history, and here I am wondering what you’re listening to and who you follow. 

SM: Well, you know Carrie Underwood and I share a birthday! She’s my girl. And I’m a big Charles Barkley fan.

TTV: You were commentating the 2012 Summer games in London when the Fab Five won gold. What was that like? 

SM: To be able to sit in the broadcast booth and watch them win—it was amazing. The tough thing is when you’re sitting up in press row, you’re not really supposed to cheer, so it was hard. I had to keep my cheering under the table.

TTV: The sport has changed a lot since you were competing.

SM: The things that these girls are doing now are just absolutely insane. It’s fantastic to watch. You constantly wonder where it is going to top out. How can they do more flips and more twists? I don’t know how they do it.

TTV: What’s your favorite way to stay fit? 

SM: I’m a walker. I really love walking. Every year I say, “Oh! I’m going to try tennis this year!” and it hasn’t worked yet. I had a baby, and then I had chemo, and then I had another baby. So maybe this fall!

TTV: Your book, It’s Not About Perfect, comes out in April. What can we expect?

SM: It kind of sums up my life. I was always striving for perfection—every toe point, every flick of the finger made the difference in winning gold. As women, we are always focused on perfection. How do we look? How do we behave? We all want to be the perfect mother, but no such thing exists. It’s great to strive for perfection, but it just isn’t about perfect. It’s about getting up every day and just giving it your all, trying to do the very best you can that day.

TTV: You’re a great advocate of healthy lifestyles. A lot of people don’t know you’ve experienced cancer.

SM: That is the main reason why I was very upfront, very outspoken. Not because I like to go around talking about my ovaries, but because I wanted people to really get that visual and to understand that it really doesn’t matter who you are or where you are from. 

TTV: Tell me about your diagnosis. What prompted you to see a doctor?

SM: My husband and I decided this would be a nice time to start thinking about expanding our family. I made a doctor’s appointment to get the prenatal vitamins and stuff. I thought, “You know, I just don’t have time for this,” so I called up to cancel the appointment. And it was that moment on the phone sitting there on hold, and I realized I was not walking the walk. I was not being a good advocate for women’s health by being too busy to go to my own exam. When the nurse came back on the line, I just said, “Ok, I’ll just take the first available appointment, and I’ll figure out my schedule.” There happened to have been a cancellation that morning, so I drove right over there. There was no urgency, no concern for my health. Cancer certainly was not on my radar. In the span of a 15-minute appointment, I got the shock of my life.

TTV: In hindsight, you recognized some symptoms such as weight loss, bloating and frequent urination. But you weren’t concerned when you visited the doctor?

SM: What woman doesn’t have all those things? I wish it was because I was so very aware of my health, but—like a lot of women—I was just very busy at that point in my life. If you asked me the day that I was at the doctor’s office getting that exam, I would have told you, “No, I don’t have any issues. I’m healthy as can be. I feel great.” But when I look back now, I realize I’d lost six pounds that month.

TTV: It’s hard to know how to help when a friend or family member is diagnosed. What helped you through your diagnosis and treatment? 

SM: I really appreciated it when other survivors reached out. Little tips and tricks and hints about how to get through it—whether it was picking out a wig or keeping your head warm or taking care of your skin. It was a whole new world that I really never understood. The things that you can do that may not seem like a lot—like going over and cooking dinner for the family so that they can just go lay in bed, or coming over and playing with the kids for a little bit so that they can get some rest—everyday things that are really tough to get to. You don’t want to deal with those everyday things, but they don’t go away.

TTV: What was least helpful?

SM: The least helpful thing was any negative attitude, or anyone who wanted to tell me their horror stories. Any negative thoughts were something I just didn’t want to deal with. I didn’t want to hear it, and I didn’t want to be around that.

TTV: Tell me about your treatment.

SM: I went into it blind. I did not realize how bad the nausea would be and how quickly it would knock me out. I couldn’t even keep down water. I didn’t expect the neuropathy in my hands. I mean, I couldn’t open a bottle of water on my own. I almost appreciate that I didn’t know as much with regards to the specifics for the nausea, the hair loss, because I think I would have probably been a little bit intimidated.

TTV: What kept you going?

SM: Being able to laugh at even the worst moment—being able to keep that humor alive—was so critical for me, especially during the hair loss. It wasn’t always fun. I cried when my head was shaved. But at some point, you kind of have to bring yourself out of it with a little bit of laughter and finding the humor.