I was nearly too busy to save my own life

Fox News correspondent Jonathan Serrie has the latest from Atlanta on 'Special Report.'

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?  

CANCER CENTERS ARE SUFFERING MAJOR SHORTAGE OF POPULAR CHEMO DRUGS

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