Olivia Munn opened up to Vogue in a profile published Sunday about her scary recent battle with breast cancer and her family plans for the future.
Munn, who made her alarming health diagnosis public on social media in March, didn’t shy away in this interview from revealing more news about her recovery in the months since.
Munn explained after being diagnosed with luminal B breast cancer in both of her breasts that “aggressive cancers need aggressive treatments.”
She previously revealed in her Instagram post that she followed the advice of her doctor, Thaïs Aliabadi, MD, to undergo multiple surgeries as part of her treatment plan. Munn further reveals in the Vogue piece that one of those surgeries was a double mastectomy. As her doctor explained, “I couldn’t take any risks with Olivia’s life.”
“To minimize the chance of any abnormal cells remaining,” Dr. Aliabadi elaborated, “I suggested a double mastectomy, giving Olivia the best opportunity to beat her cancer.”
Now Munn has revealed to Vogue other surgeries she underwent when a powerful medication she was taking to send her body into menopause proved problematic. Her doctors explained that there was one alternative to the drug — a fifth major surgery. ” In April, Munn explains, she “had an oophorectomy and hysterectomy. I took out my uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries.”
Munn, who shares a two-year-old son Malcom with comedian John Mulaney, revealed that while she’s feeling more like herself these days, the weight of those surgeries did hit her emotionally.
“I did have one real moment of panic,” Munn explains, in the days following her most recent surgery. “A real breakdown. Because it’s just so strange when you’ve been with this body your entire life, had your period for so long, feel when you’re ovulating, and all of a sudden it’s gone.”
The conversation then segued to motherhood, and her plans regarding that topic for the future. Understanding the drastic ramifications on her fertility following her diagnosis and treatment, Munn decided to freeze her eggs recently at 42 (she’s 43 now), after having previously frozen eggs at ages 33 and 39.
Munn spoke openly about the decision. “After my diagnosis, we decided to try one more round of egg retrievals and hoped it was a good month. John and I talked about it a lot and we don’t feel like we’re done growing our family, but didn’t know if I would have to do chemotherapy or radiation.”
The egg retrieval procedure was risky for Munn while undergoing cancer treatment, and she understood that but very much wanted to do everything possible to have the chance to expand her family in the future. Following the first egg retrieval, Munn explains “a few hours later, we got the call from my doctor. He shared that we had two healthy embryos.”
“John and I just started crying,” Munn continued. “It was just so exciting because not only did we get it in one retrieval, but it also meant that I didn’t have to keep putting myself at risk. It was just amazing.”
Munn didn’t elaborate on what stage in the process she and Mulaney are at in regards to the IVF route to pregnancy, but she did speak a bit about choosing a surrogate, which would be the next step down that road.
“With a surrogate, you have to try to go find a version of yourself somewhere out in the world,” Munn said. “Somebody that you trust as much as yourself to live their life as a pregnant woman the same way that you would.”
“But a surrogate isn’t a scary prospect to me anymore because there’s nothing I can do,” she added. “I don’t have the ability to carry a baby anymore, so if we want to build our family, this is our option.”
Munn also revealed, “This journey has made me realize how grateful I am to have options for not only fighting cancer, but also having more children if we want, because I know a lot of people don’t have those options.”
Sounds like Olivia Munn‘s health ordeal has given her some fresh perspective on healthcare and motherhood, and she’s sharing her story in hopes it can help other women going through similar issues.
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