Olivia Munn announced on Instagram that she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer. The 43-year-old actor wrote in a message to fans: “I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey.”
“I wouldn’t have found my cancer for another year – at my next scheduled mammogram – except that my OBGYN, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, decided to calculate my Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. The fact that she did saved my life,” Munn added in a statement. “Dr. Aliabadi looked at factors like my age, familial breast cancer history, and the fact that I had my first child after the age of 30. She discovered my lifetime risk was at 37%. Because of that score I was sent to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy. The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast moving cancer.”
Munn revealed she had a double mastectomy 30 days after her biopsy.
“I went from feeling completely fine one day, to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next,” she wrote. “I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day. Ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. Dr. Aliabadi says that If the number is greater than 20%, you need annual mammograms and breast MRIs starting at age 30.”
Munn’s professional career started on the gaming network G4, where she was a host on “Attack of the Show!” for nearly four years. She jumped to “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” as a correspondent for a year and then started acting in films and television series, including Aaron Sorkin’s HBO drama series “The Newsroom.” Her film credits include “Magic Mike,” “The Predator,” “Office Christmas Party” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.”
Munn said she is “so thankful to my friends and family for loving me through this. I’m so thankful to John [Mulaney] for the nights he spent researching what every operation and medication meant and what side effects and recovery I could expect. For being there before I went into each surgery and being there when I woke up.”
Read Munn’s full statement in the Instagram post below.