Olivia Munn stunned fans on Wednesday with a post about her tragic medical news on social media — she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer this past year and has been undergoing treatment and surgeries for the past ten months.
Munn shared a series of personal pictures and a letter explaining her diagnosis on Instagram, along with the caption, “I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey.”
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Munn elaborated on the ordeal in a letter posted along with the pictures, explaining “In February of 2023, in an effort to be proactive about my health, I took a genetic test that checks you for 90 different cancer genes. I tested negative for all, including BRCA (the most well-known breast cancer gene).”
She continued, “My sister Sara had just tested negative as well. We called each other and high-fived over the phone. That same winter I also had a normal mammogram.”
Munn then dropped the bombshell, “Two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.”
She goes on to reveal, “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 ever could have imagined.”
Munn's post must be quite the tear-jerker for fans with its raw, honest emotions, yet she admits “Surprisingly, I've only cried twice. I guess I haven't felt like there was time to cry. My focus narrowed and I tabled any emotions that I felt would interfere with my ability to stay clearheaded.”
As for why she decided to wait to go public with the news, Munn admitted, “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,” Munn continued. “I needed to catch my breath and get through some of the hardest parts before sharing.”
Munn also gave a sincere shoutout to her medical team that's taken care of her along the way. “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 explains her concerning score on this assessment led to getting an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which led to a biopsy, which led to the diagnosis of “Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast moving cancer.”
Munn drew attention to the huge importance of people having their own Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score calculated as a proactive health measure. She went on to express her heartfelt gratitude to “the nurses, patient coordinators and staff at Cedars-Sinai in LA and Saint John's in Santa Monica.”
“I want to specifically thank my surgical oncologist Dr. Armando Giuliano, my reconstructive surgeon Dr. Jay Orringer, my oncologist Dr. Monica Mita, and especially my guardian angel, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi,” Munn said.
Munn also gave an extended appreciation to her partner, comedian John Mulaney, with whom she shares a 2-year-old son, Malcolm Hiệp. “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.”
“For being there before I went into each surgery and being there when I woke up,” she went on. “Always placing framed photos of our little boy Malcolm so it would be the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.”
Munn also thanked her friends and fellow breast cancer sufferers “for guiding me through some of my most uncertain and overwhelming moments.”
Despite the tragic news, there is a hopeful note in Olivia Munn's post in the fact that she was seen on the red carpet and at the Oscars with John Mulaney over the weekend, and presumably she is on the road to remission (though she doesn't explicitly address her current prognosis in the letter).
Regardless, the revelation is a reminder of the various reasons celebrities — and the general public, for that matter — sometimes prefer to keep medical diagnoses private, until the patient has time to process everything. As social media continues to spiral down conspiracy theory rabbit holes concerning the health of Princess Catherine, perhaps Olivia Munn‘s heartfelt post will be a reminder that everyone is entitled to privacy where matters of their personal health is concerned.
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