Olympic champion using her cancer to educate women

With a toddler on the verge of walking, a busy work schedule and the holidays approaching, the last thing Shannon Miller really had time for was her annual checkup. Maybe, she thought, she'd cancel it, reschedule it once things calmed down.

Besides, at 33, she felt perfectly fine, and was as fit as she was 15 years ago when she won two gold medals at the Atlanta Olympics.

"We think we're invincible," the gymnast said. "That we have too much on our plate so it can wait."

It can't.

During that annual exam, doctors discovered a cyst on Miller's ovary that turned out to be a germ cell malignancy. The tumor is not the same as what most people think of as ovarian cancer, one of the deadliest forms of the disease. Germ cell malignancies are rare, and generally occur in teenagers and women under 30.

But the effects could have been just as devastating. By catching it early, however, Miller has the best possible prognosis. She is cancer-free after doctors removed the baseball-sized tumor last month and is opting to do nine weeks of preventive chemotherapy that will improve her cure rate to 99 percent. She begins treatment March 7.

Now, Miller hopes sharing her story will encourage other women to make their health a priority.

"Early detection was so key in my situation. If I hadn't gone in for the exam, it could have been another year, which would have been a completely different prognosis," Miller told The Associated Press. "Make your health a priority. Do not delay. Do not reschedule. We talk about it constantly, but we still find ourselves creating excuses or simply running out of time to go in and go see our doctors.

"Personally, I want people to know that I'm OK," she added. "I definitely have my pity-party days. I definitely have my days when I think about losing my hair and not being able to do all of things I want to do the next few months. When I start getting upset about it, I think, 'Wow, I'm so blessed they caught it this early, and I have such a positive prognosis. If that means nine weeks of chemo, a year from now, is that going to matter when I'm here for my son and I'm here for my family?' It's all going to be OK."

With seven Olympic medals and nine from the world championships, Miller is the most decorated gymnast in U.S. history. She is a two-time world all-around champion and was part of the "Magnificent Seven," the only U.S. women's gymnastics team to win Olympic gold.