Olivia Munn wants to raise awareness about the risk of breast cancer. In mid-March, Munn revealed via Instagram that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had spent nearly the past year fighting the disease through surgery and treatment. The actress opened up further about her year in an exclusive interview with People, giving her honest thoughts on her cancer diagnosis. “You realize cancer doesn’t care who you are; it doesn’t care if you have a baby or if you don’t have time. It comes at you, and you have no choice but to face it head-on,” Munn said.
Olivia Munn, who is in a relationship and has a son with comedian John Mulaney, was diagnosed with stage 1 invasive breast cancer after going in for a routine Pap smear. The diagnosis was particularly shocking as just months before she received good news after a mammogram and learned she does not have the BRCA cancer gene.
Olivia Munn Hopes to Inspire Others
While some may find it uncomfortable to discuss, Olivia Munn was frank about the procedures she underwent: a lymph node dissection, a nipple delay, a double mastectomy, and a breast reconstruction. “I know a lot of women want to go bigger, but [I said] go smaller,” Munn said of her reconstruction. “It’s so important to say what you want out loud—and don’t stop. Even as the anesthesia was making its way into my body, the last thing I said was ‘Please go smaller.’”
Since November 2023, Olivia Munn has been receiving hormone suppression therapy to decrease her risk of recurrence. While the treatment has caused early menopause in Munn, she is more concerned with spreading awareness that screeners do not detect all forms of breast cancer. The actress shared on her Instagram story, “I hope by telling this story more women learn about the free, online test that saved my life, the Tyrer-Cuzick score.”
