Olivia Munn revealed Wednesday that she was diagnosed with luminal B breast cancer and said she hopes sharing her news will “help others find comfort, inspiration and support in their own journey.”
The “The Newsroom” and “X-Men: Apocalypse” star announced her diagnosis in an Instagram post that included several behind-the-scenes photos of her “uncertain and overwhelming” health journey that referenced the four surgeries she said she had. had. more than 10 months.
In a statement accompanying the post, the 43-year-old actress said she took a genetic test in February 2023 “in an effort to be proactive” about her health. She tested negative for 90 different cancer genes, including the common BRCA gene, and had a normal mammogram that same winter, but two months later she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
Munn said that if her “guardian angel” OB-GYN, Los Angeles-based Dr. Thais Aliabadi, had not calculated her breast cancer risk assessment score, she would not have found the cancer for another year. during your next scheduled mammogram.
“The fact that he did it saved my life,” Munn said. The actress shared that her lifetime risk score was 37% and because of that, her doctor sent her for an MRI, an ultrasound, and then a biopsy, which showed she had luminal B cancer, an aggressive molecular cancer. , in both. breasts.
Thirty days after that biopsy, she underwent a double mastectomy, she said.
“I went from feeling completely fine one day to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next day,” Munn wrote.
“I'm lucky. We caught him with enough time so he had options. I want the same for any woman who has to face this one day. Ask your doctor to calculate your breast cancer risk assessment score. Dr. Aliabadi says that if that number is greater than 40%, annual mammograms and breast MRIs are needed starting at age 30.”
Munn, who accompanied her boyfriend John Mulaney to the Oscars on Sunday, thanked her medical team, her friends and family and the comedian, with whom she shares a young son.
“I am so grateful to John for the nights he spent researching what each operation and medication meant and what side effects and recovery I could expect,” she wrote, and for “being there before every surgery and being there when I woke up, always posting photos.” framed pictures of our little Malcolm so that it was the first thing he saw when he opened his eyes.”
Munn added: “In the last ten months I've had four surgeries, spent so many days in bed I can't even count them, and I've learned more about cancer, cancer treatment, and hormones than I ever imagined. Surprisingly I have only cried twice. I guess I didn't feel like there was time to cry. My focus narrowed and I postponed any emotions that I felt would interfere with my ability to keep a clear mind.”
One of those screams appeared in a clip from her post, when her doctor appeared to be comforting her before one of her procedures.
“I have kept the diagnosis, the worry, the recovery, the painkillers and the paper gowns private. “I needed to catch my breath and get through some of the harder parts before sharing,” he explained.
