Marvel Star Reveals Heartbreaking Cancer Diagnosis
Just a few days after hitting the Oscar red carpet, looking flawless as usual, Olivia Munn made the surprise announcement that she has been battling breast cancer and had a double mastectomy. The Marvel star has also got many women googling “breast cancer risk calculator,” saying her calculated number prompted her to have further testing, which eventually found cancer in both breasts. The 43-year-old says if not for those things, she would not have discovered the cancer for another year at her annual mammogram.
Olivia Munn Battling Breast Cancer
On Instagram, Olivia Munn shared her story, explaining her doctor said that with her family breast cancer history and the fact that she had her first child after the age of 30, her lifetime risk was 37 percent. It was because of that number that she was sent to have an MRI, ultrasound, and then a biopsy that showed she had Luminal B, an aggressive, fast-growing cancer in both breasts.
The actress is now urging fans to asks their doctors to calculate their Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Toll is a questionnaire on the National Cancer Institute’s website that is designed for healthcare providers to use with patients.
A Bright Spot In X-Men: Apocalypse
Going deeper, Olivia Munn explains how it all started in February of 2023 when she took a genetic test that looked for 90 different cancer genes, including BRCA, the most widely known breast cancer gene. Her results were negative. She also says she had a normal mammogram. Even still, only two months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
1 In 8 Women Will Be Diagnosed With Breast Cancer
According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc., 1 in 8 women in the US will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. This year alone, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. The good news is that when caught in its earliest, localized stages, the 5-year relative survival rate for breast cancer is 99%. There are currently more than 4 million breast cancer survivors in the US, and that includes Olivia Munn.
Cancer Doesn’t Care How Famous You Are
Other famous women sharing their breast cancer battles recently include modeling icon Linda Evangelista and legendary journalist Katie Couric. Another icon, Olivia Newton-John, battled breast cancer on and off for years and died from the disease in 2022 at the age of 73. And it’s not just women like Olivia Munn being diagnosed. In 2020, Beyoncé’s father, Mathew Knowles, revealed he had breast cancer.
Olivia Munn Is On The Road To Recovery
Olivia Munn thanked friends and family for “loving me through this,” including her partner, comedian John Mulaney. The two have a son together. Munn wrote that Mulaney spent nights researching operations (she said she ended up having 4 in total), medications, and side effects and was present at every surgery. The couple was together at the Oscars on Sunday. Mulaney was a presenter and one of the funniest parts of the show.
Olivia Munn started her professional career as a TV host for the gaming network G4 and the series Attack of the Show. A lot of acting followed, including Magic Mike, the series The Newsroom, X-Men: Apocalypse, The Predator, and Office Christmas Party.
