Olivia Munn's Breast Cancer Journey
- Actress Olivia Munn has revealed she’s never doubted what her body could do while fighting hormone receptor-positive (HR+) breast cancer, a disease she beat after having both her breasts removed, a hysterectomy, removing her uterus, as well as surgeries to remove her fallopian tubes and ovaries.
- Munn, who preserved her fertility and underwent an egg retrieval, now takes medication to help prevent cancer recurrence. She credits The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment to saving her life. It assesses a woman’s age, family history with breast cancer when she first had a menstrual period, and her reproductive history to determine her risk of breast cancer.
- Being grateful for moments in life can help cancer patients, or anyone battling some type of disease, stay positive and uplifted. Experts tell SurvivorNet that positive patients typically have more successful treatment outcomes.
The “X-Men: Apocalypse” star—who beat breast cancer after having both breasts removed, as well as surgeries to remove her fallopian tubes, uterus, and ovaries—told Extra! on the Women’s Cancer Research Fund’s pink carpet this week, about how her cancer journey has affected her, Munn explained, “People have asked me this question a lot… They’ll say it like as an assumption. They’ll say, ‘Did you feel your body betrayed you when you were diagnosed with breast cancer?’
Read MoreLooking back on all the wonderful things her body has been able to offer her, she also said, “I look at my baby boy and I’m like, ‘He wouldn’t be here if my body didn’t bring him into this world.
“Every little, you know, saggy part of my skin or my stomach, or how everything looks different. I just, I am so grateful for my body and I love my body for being able to bring my son into this world.”
Munn is mom to her son Malcolm Hiệp Mulaney, 3, and her daughter Méi June Mulaney, who will turn one in September.
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Munn, who donned a cream-colored Chloe dress, was gifted the Courage Award at the fundraising event and explained how her loved ones have been her top priority through her cancer journey.
“The most important thing to me has been to be there for my children and the time I get with my kids, and also, to be able to nurture myself and do the things that I love and get back into acting.
“It’s something that I, after this journey, I thought that I was done with. I actually called my reps and said, ‘I don’t want to be in front of the camera anymore. I’m gonna do some stuff behind the scenes.'”
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After noting how she’s enjoying life as a mom to two young children and working as an actress on the new show “Your Friends & Neighbors,” Munn is proud to be helping raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and encouraging others to take the “lifetime risk assessment test.”
She explained further, “It went from the beginning to be my family and John and my close friends being my support team, and after talking about it, that support team has expanded.
“I mean, every time someone comes up to me to talk to me about their own cancer, or their mother’s, or wife’s, or sister’s… There’s such a connection that I feel and we’re all rooting for each other, and we’re all there for each other.”
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Olivia’s Breast Cancer Journey
Olivia Munn’s breast cancer diagnosis emerged despite receiving a “normal” mammogram and testing negative for the BRCA-gene mutation, which increases your risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
At the suggestion of her OBGYN, the actress underwent a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment, which helps determine a woman’s probability of getting breast cancer. Her results called for additional screening, which revealed she had an aggressive form of cancer in both of her breasts.
“I wouldn’t have found my cancer for another year – at my next scheduled mammogram – except that my OBGYN…decided to calculate my Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. The fact that she did save my life,” Munn said in an Instagram post, shared in March 2024.
The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment she credits for catching her breast cancer is a “statistical model that allows healthcare professionals to calculate the probability of a woman developing breast cancer over the course of their lifetime,” Dr. Ruth Oratz, breast medical oncologist, NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center; clinical professor of medicine, NYU Grossman School of Medicine tells SurvivorNet.
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Munn underwent genetic testing to better understand her cancer risk. Genetic tests can be as simple as a simple saliva swab or blood sample. The results help your care team determine if you have a specific mutation that puts you at higher risk for cancer. The results help doctors tailor your treatment and are helpful for breast cancer patients.
“I tested negative for all (different cancer genes), including BRCA,” Munn said.
The BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene mutations are among the most important genes to look for in breast cancer. Together, they are responsible for about half of all hereditary breast cancers. These genes prevent cells from dividing haphazardly and uncontrollably in a person without mutations. Mutations prevent these genes from doing their job and can allow unchecked growth of breast, ovarian, and other tissues.
Two months after undergoing genetic testing, Munn was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer in both of her breasts.
According to research in “Breast Cancer,” luminal B tumors are of a “higher grade” and tend to have a worse prognosis. This type of breast cancer is estrogen-positive (ER), meaning it is fueled by the hormone estrogen. It can also be progestogen (PR) negative, meaning it is not fueled by progestogen. This type of breast also tends to have a higher expression of the Ki67 protein, making it grow quickly. Hormonal therapy and chemotherapy are often used to treat this type of cancer. Luminal is one of several types and is distinguished by its molecular makeup.
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Staying Grateful Amid Battling Disease
We’re delighted Olivia Munn was able to maintain a positive outlook through battling breast cancer. After a diagnosis, it’s understandably extremely difficult to feel grateful for, well, maybe anything. However, studies prove that patients who are able to stay uplifted and positive often have better treatment outcomes. That’s why mindset and attitude can be extremely valuable tools.
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“The patients who do well with cancer, they live life with gratitude in terms of everything,” Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon and Director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, tells SurvivorNet.
“They’re grateful, not for cancer, but they’re grateful for an opportunity to know that life is finite. They live life with [saying] ‘I love you’ to their husband, to their wife, to their kids. They can appreciate it for one of the first times ever because they know it may not be forever that they get to do this. Those are the patients that tend to do well with processing and also living a long, long life despite a diagnosis.”
Dr. Zuri Murrell explains why patients who have gratitude can do well during treatment
Although studies show how important it is to find some positivity during a cancer battle, that’s much easier said than done. In addition to tackling treatment, people often juggle an overwhelming number of emotions including anxiety, anger, fear, and sadness.
There can be a lot of pressure linked to a cancer diagnosis, and colon cancer survivor Kate Bowler knows this first-hand. When Bowler was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, she started to resent how some people expected her to remain positive despite going through something traumatic. She told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview that she refers to this as “bright-siding,” and she felt immense pressure while discussing her diagnosis with friends and family, especially since she was deeply rooted in a spiritual community.
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“I hate the bright siding, because I would never want someone who’s suffering to feel the burden of positivity,” Bowler told SurvivorNet. “People want me to reassure them that my cancer is all part of a plan. We want to live in a world in which nothing is lost. I think faith was a bit tricky for me.”
In the end, Bowler was able to find a community where she felt supported, and that helped her push through treatment without any more pressure.
What to Know About Screening For Breast Cancer
The medical community has a consensus that women between 45 and 54 have annual mammograms. However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is saying that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives.
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For women aged 55 and older, the American Cancer Society recommends getting a mammogram every other year. However, women in this age group who want added reassurance can still get annual mammograms.
Women who have a strong family history of breast cancer, have dense breasts, have a genetic mutation known to increase the risk of breast cancer, such as a BRCA gene mutation, or a medical history, including chest radiation therapy before age 30, are considered at higher risk for breast cancer.
Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.
Screening For Breast Cancer
Breast density is determined through mammograms. However, women with dense breasts are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer because dense breast tissue can mask potential cancer during screening. 3D mammograms, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, and molecular breast imaging are options for women with dense breasts for a more precise screening. It is important to ask your doctor about your breast density and cancer risk.
Although breast cancer can happen to anyone, certain factors can increase a person’s risk of getting the disease. The known risk factors for breast cancer include:
- Older age
- Having a gene mutation such as the BRCA1 or BRCA2
- Added exposure to estrogen
- Having children after the age of 30
- Exposure to radiation early in life
- Family history of the disease
About ten percent of breast cancers are hereditary, says Dr. Ophira Ginsburg, Director of the High-Risk Cancer Program at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.
“We encourage only those who have a family history to really get [genetic testing],” Dr. Ginsburg previously told SurvivorNet.
“I would say that if you have anyone in your family who was diagnosed with a very rare cancer. Or if you have a strong family history of one or two kinds of cancer, particularly breast and ovarian, but also colon, rectal, uterine, and ovarian cancer, that goes together in another cancer syndrome called the Lynch Syndrome,” Dr. Ginsburg adds.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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