Inside Olivia Munn’s Breast Cancer Battle: Updates on Her Surgeries and John Mulaney’s Support
Olivia Munn candidly revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2024 and has undergone multiple surgeries. She announced her diagnosis after attending the Oscars 2024 with boyfriend John Mulaney.
Olivia Munn Shared Breast Cancer Diagnosis With the World
In February 2023, Olivia underwent genetic testing to check for 90 different cancer genes. She tested negative for all, including BRCA. Her mammogram that winter also showed up normal. Two months later, she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
"In the past 10 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," she told her Instagram followers in a March 2024 post. "Surprisingly, I've only cried twice. I guess I haven’t felt like there’s time to cry. My focus arrowed and I tabled any emotions that I felt would interfere with my ability to stay clear headed."
Olivia explained that she decided to keep her diagnosis private for a little while to “get through some of the hardest parts before sharing."
“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,” the New Girl alum told her followers. “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.”
She underwent a double mastectomy 30 days after the biopsy. Olivia described herself as "lucky" that doctors "caught it with enough time."
John Mulaney Has Been by Her Side
She extended a message of gratitude to John, whom she has been dating since 2021. They welcomed their son, Malcolm Hiệp Mulaney, that same year.
"I'm so thankful to my friends and family for loving me through this," Olivia added. 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, always placing framed photos of our little boy Malcolm so it would be the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes."
Olivia Munn Had a Hysterectomy
Olivia underwent a hysterectomy after experiencing "debilitating exhaustion" as a side effect from the estrogen-suppressing drug Lupron.
“I have now had an oophorectomy and hysterectomy," she told Vogue in May 2024. "I took out my uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries.”
Prior to the surgery, Olivia froze her eggs in the hopes of expanding her family in the future with John.
"After my diagnosis, we decided to try one more round of egg retrievals and hoped it was a good month," she explained. "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."
"A few hours later, we got the call from my doctor. He shared that we had two healthy embryos," the Date Night actress revealed. "John and I just started crying. 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."
