Olivia Munn reveals private battle with breast cancer: 'Surprisingly, I've only cried twice'
The actress thanked boyfriend John Mulaney "for being there before I went into each surgery and being there when I woke up."
Olivia Munn is opening up about her private battle with breast cancer.
The Newsroom actress, 43, revealed in a Wednesday Instagram post that she was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer in 2023 and has since undergone several surgeries, including a double mastectomy. The carousel of images starts with a selfie of Munn in a hospital bed, before a series of slides where she gets candid about the diagnosis.
“In the past ten months I have had four surgeries, so many days spent in bed I can't even count and have learned more about cancer, cancer treatment and hormones than I could ever have imagined,” Munn wrote. “Surprisingly, I've only cried twice. I guess I haven't felt like there was time to cry.”
The actress began her post by explaining that the diagnosis came as a shock, despite her personal decision to get tested for cancer.
“In February of 2023, in an effort to be more proactive about my health, I took a genetic test that checks you for 90 cancer genes. I tested negative for all, including BRCA (the most well-known breast cancer gene),” she wrote. “My sister Sara had just tested negative as well. We called each other and high-fived over the phone. The same winter I also had a negative mammogram. Two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Munn said that at a regularly scheduled appointment, her OBGYN decided to calculate her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. “The fact that she did saved my life,” she wrote. "I went from feeling completely fine one day, to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next. I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options."
The Instagram carousel also included a video of the actress tearing up ahead of a surgery. Speaking to her decision to fight her cancer battle privately, she wrote, “I've tended to let people see me when I have energy, when I can get dressed and get out of the house, when I can take my baby boy to the park. I've kept the diagnosis and the worry and the recovery and the pain medicine and the paper gowns private. I needed to catch my breath and get through some of the hardest parts before sharing.”
Munn, who shares a son with boyfriend John Mulaney, recently walked the red carpet with the comedian at the 96th Academy Awards. After thanking friends and family for their support throughout her cancer battle, she gave a special shoutout to Mulaney.
“I’m so thankful to John for the nights he spent researching what every operation and medication meant and what side effects and recovery I could expect,” she wrote. “For being there before I went into each surgery and being there when I woke up, always placing framed photos of our little boy Malcolm so it would be the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.”
Mulaney commented on Munn's Instagram post: "Thank you for fighting so hard to be here for us. Malc and I adore you."
The final image of her post features a framed photograph of Mulaney with their 2-year-old son, Malcolm. You can read her full statement in the post above.
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