Olivia Munn, 43, reveals she has been diagnosed with breast cancer – having undergone four surgeries in 10 months

Olivia Munn has revealed she was diagnosed with breast cancer – having undergone four surgeries in the last 10 months.

The actress, 43, took to Instagram earlier today to issue a health update.

She wrote: ‘In February of 2023, in an effort to be more proactive about my health, I took a genetic test that checks you for 90 cancer genes. I tested negative for all, including BRCA (the most well-known breast cancer gene).

‘My sister Sara had just tested negative as well. We called each other and high-fived over the phone. The same winter I also had a negative mammogram.

‘Two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.’

She continued: ‘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 could ever have imagined.

‘Surprisingly, I’ve only cried twice. I guess I haven’t felt like there was time to cry. My focus narrowed and I tabled my emotions that I felt would interfere with my ability to stay clearheaded.

‘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.

‘I needed to catch my breath and get through some of the hardest parts before sharing.’

The post added: ‘I wouldn’t have found my cancer for an other year – at my scheduled mammogram – except that my OBGYN, Dr Thais Aliabadi, decided to calculate my Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. THe fact she did saved my life.

‘Dr. Aliabadi looked at factors like my age, familial breast cancer history, and the fact I had my first child after the age of 30. She discovered my lifetime risk was at 37%. 

‘Because of that score IO 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.

’30 days after that biopsy I had a double mastectomy. I went from feeling completely fine one day, to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next.

‘I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day. Ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. Dr. Aliabadi says if the number is greater than 20% you need annual mammograms and breast MRIs starting at age 30.

‘I’m so thankful to my friends and family for loving me through this. 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.

‘Thank you to the friends who’ve had breast cancer and the friends who connected me to friends who have had breast cancer for guiding me through some fo my most uncertain and overwhelming months.

‘I am extremely grateful for nurses, patient coordinators and staff at the 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. Thais Aliabadi.’