She Was Diagnosed With Ovarian Cancer at 33. 3 Signs She Ignored

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At the peak of her career, Olympic gymnast Shannon Miller was the definition of body awareness. She spent her youth mastering flips, landings, and balance beam routines that demanded total control and precision. Knowing her body was part of her job.

“My job as an elite athlete was to know everything that’s going on in my body at all times. You don’t fly around 15 feet in the air and not know,” Miller told Business Insider.

That’s why it came as a complete shock when, years after retiring, a routine doctor’s visit revealed a baseball-sized cyst on her ovary. The growth turned out to be a rare form of ovarian cancer.

Miller was 33 at the time, balancing life as a new mom with a one-year-old son and plans for another baby. She nearly postponed that doctor’s appointment — nothing seemed wrong enough to worry about. After all, she was healthy, active, and focused on her new career as a wellness advocate and radio host.

“I completely missed the signs and symptoms. I could find a logical reason for all of them,” she said.

Now 48, Miller reflects on her diagnosis with a mission: to help other women recognize what she almost overlooked. Partnering with AbbVie, she’s raising awareness about ovarian cancer and urging women not to dismiss what their bodies are trying to say.

More than a decade after her diagnosis, Miller said women are still missing the same red flags — and the consequences can be devastating.

1. Don’t Dismiss Persistent Stomach Pain
Miller had frequent stomach aches before her diagnosis but brushed them off as normal indigestion or stress.

“What woman’s stomach doesn’t hurt at least a couple of times a month?” she said.

The pain wasn’t constant, but it was recurring — one of the most common and overlooked symptoms of ovarian cancer. On the day of her gynecology appointment, she felt fine. She expected a routine checkup and maybe a prescription for prenatal vitamins. But when she mentioned her stomach discomfort, her doctor ordered an ultrasound — the test that uncovered the tumor.

That simple decision not to downplay her pain may have saved her life.

2. Unexpected Weight Loss Deserves Attention
Another clue came in the form of unexplained weight loss. Miller had chalked it up to shedding “baby weight” after giving birth.

“I thought I was just losing the baby weight,” she said.

But weight loss without a clear reason can be a major warning sign of cancer.

When doctors confirmed the diagnosis, Miller was faced with an impossible choice — how aggressive to be in treatment, and whether she still wanted to try for another child.

“He said, ‘How much should I try to salvage? If I need to take everything, just understand what that means moving forward,’” Miller recalled.

She chose the most aggressive option: surgery to remove her left ovary, followed by chemotherapy. Against all odds, she later gave birth to a daughter in 2013.

3. Watch Out for Unexplained Bloating
The third sign was subtler — bloating. Miller said she was so busy adjusting to new motherhood that she barely noticed her stomach swelling. She attributed it to hormones, stress, and irregular meals.

But bloating, fullness, or abdominal swelling can be one of the earliest signs of ovarian cancer. These symptoms can mimic digestive issues, making them easy to ignore. They’re also warning signs of other cancers, like colorectal or pancreatic cancer.

Through her treatment, Miller leaned on the mental discipline that had carried her through years of elite gymnastics.

“I mentally reverted back to that competitive mentality — goal setting, teamwork, keeping a positive mindset,” she said. “It wasn’t training for a gold medal. It was, can I get up, get dressed, and walk twice around the dining room table? If I could do that, that was a win.”

Miller, who won seven Olympic medals and was part of the legendary “Magnificent Seven” that clinched the U.S. women’s first-ever team gold in 1996, now uses her platform to advocate for early detection and better awareness.

There’s still no routine test for ovarian cancer, but emerging diagnostic tools like biomarker testing and personalized screening could help catch it earlier — if women know what to look for.

“We have to listen to our bodies,” Miller said. “Cancer doesn’t care who you are or how many gold medals you have.”

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