Actress Olivia Munn got candid about her breast cancer journey, hoping to help other women who may hear her story.
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey,” she said in an Instagram post.
Never did the 43-year-old think that after the joy of having her son, Malcolm, now 2 years old, she would be battling luminal B, an aggressive and fast-moving cancer.
She expressed that at the time, her mind automatically shifted. She didn’t fear death herself, but thinking about both her child and partner, John Mulaney, left her terrified.
“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,” she said. “It comes at you, and you have no choice but to face it head-on.”
Ms. Munn was weeks away from filming in Germany for a new movie when she got the call, leaving her in shock, especially when her annual mammogram just three months prior had come back clear. Additionally, she had tested negative for the BRCA cancer gene.
A Different Test
It wasn’t until Ms. Munn completed a test per the recommendation of her doctor, to check her lifetime breast cancer risk score, that led to her diagnosis.After receiving what’s considered a high-risk score of 37.3 percent, her doctor ordered an MRI, revealing a spot in Ms. Munn’s right breast, “just a hairline away from my lymph nodes,” the actress said.
A subsequent ultrasound and biopsies detected two more tumors in her right breast, with further testing confirming the Stage 1 invasive cancer in her left breast as well.
Ms. Munn said she had undergone four surgeries in the past 10 months, including a double mastectomy during which doctors also found a “tangerine-sized” section of ductal carcinoma in situ, a preinvasive cancer, in her right breast.
“Hearing that news gave me peace that I'd made the right decision,” she said.
Currently, she has not required radiation or chemotherapy treatment, but in November, Ms. Munn began hormone suppression therapy to mitigate any future risk. This placed her into medically induced menopause, leading to symptoms such as hair thinning and hot flashes.
The actress, however, says she is grateful for getting the opportunity to fight, adding she is determined to help other at-risk women while raising breast cancer awareness. Ultimately, she credits her son for keeping her positive throughout.
A Proactive Approach
The Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment Calculator is a free online tool that can determine the possibility of developing breast cancer by asking personal and family history related questions. The results display a 10-year and lifetime risk score, with anything above 20 percent considered “high-risk.”Approximately 13 percent of women will be diagnosed with breast cancer at some point during their lifetime, according to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Aside from mammograms, regular screening tests are important, including clinical and self breast exams, as well as checking for symptoms.
Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women in the United States, aside from skin cancers. Women over 45 are recommended to have yearly screenings and mammograms, as it accounts for about 30 percent of all new female cancers each year.
