Olympic gold medalist turned health advocate

The most decorated gymnast in American history, Shannon Miller, now 35, is a mother and cancer survivor. She tells Dr. Manny how she is using social media to encourage others to make their health a top priority.

Shannon Miller is the most decorated gymnast in American history, with seven Olympic and nine World Championship medals.

She is also the only female athlete to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame twice. Now, the 35-year-old mother and cancer survivor is teaming up with Dr. Sreedhar Potarazu of GoodChime.com to encourage others to make their health a top priority. Dr. Manny Alvarez, senior managing health editor of FoxNews.com, recently sat down with Miller and Potarazu to find out how they are spreading the word about good health.

Following the 1996 Olympics, Miller was the picture of good health and planned to continue her education. She became a mother in 2009 – and that’s when her outlook on health really changed.

“The first step for me was retiring from gymnastics, and I went from training over 40 hours a week to really absolutely nothing because I didn’t know how to work out as a normal person,” Miller told FoxNews.com.

“I realized how important it was to take care of myself; and when I became a mother, it was even that much more important because no I have another life to take care of.”

Nearly two years later, Miller was at a routine checkup when her doctor found a baseball-sized cyst on her ovary. It was diagnosed as a rare malignant germ-cell tumor, which needed to be surgically removed. Miller also required chemotherapy.

Now cancer-free, Miller wants to help other women put their health first.

Miller is collaborating ShannonMillerLifestyle.com and the Shannon Miller Foundation with GoodChime.com, a health-focused social media website.

Dr. Sreedhar Potarazu, founder of GoodChime.com, said Miller is a perfect example of what Good Chime is all about.

“I’ve always felt that people like Shannon, that have done remarkable things in their lives to inspire others could be a huge sense of motivation for others to really take more responsibility for their health,” he said.

Potarazu said the whole mission behind Good Chime is to use famous faces to get people engaged in their health.

We’re bringing together celebrities and athletes for a common cause to use social media for social good,” he said.

Recently Miller put together a ‘challenge’ for Good Chime users trying to motivate women to get out, and get fit—becoming good examples for their children.

“My passions are childhood obesity and women’s health,” Miller said. “So, we created work out videos, we created topics that were all about health, and how you could eat right and exercise and get enough sleep to recharge your batteries.”

Potarazu said the site is all about staying connected in order to learn about good health.

For more information, visit GoodChime.com and ShannonMillerLifestyle.com.