Olivia Munn says she had hysterectomy as part of ‘aggressive’ breast cancer treatment
Olivia Munn is sharing the future of her health and her family after revealing another major surgery.
In an interview with Vogue published on Sunday, Munn, 43, said that on top of a double mastectomy for breast cancer, she opted for a hysterectomy as part of an overall "aggressive" approach to an aggressive cancer.
"It was a big decision to make, but it was the best decision for me because I needed to be present for my family," Munn said.
Prior to the surgery, Munn was experiencing "debilitating exhaustion" from a medication meant to suppress estrogen, the hormone that could potentially cause the cancer to reoccur.
"I had friends try to cheer me up by saying, ‘Malcolm’s not going to remember this. Don't worry.’ But I just kept thinking to myself, ‘I'm going to remember this, that I missed all these things.’ It's his childhood, but it's my motherhood, and I don't want to miss any of these parts if I don't have to," she said of the decision.
The surgery did cause Munn to have "a real breakdown."
US actress Olivia Munn attends the Vanity Fair Oscars Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Michael TRAN / AFP) (Photo by MICHAEL TRAN/AFP via Getty Images)
"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," she explained.
Munn shares one son, Malcolm, with her partner, comedian John Mulaney, and she told Vogue she froze her eggs in anticipation of her treatment.
"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 [we] didn't know if I would have to do chemotherapy or radiation," Munn said.
The "Newsroom" star also did egg retrieval a few years ago at age 39 and earlier at age 33.
"We just wanted a few more eggs," she said. "At my age, one in every 10 eggs are healthy, and we were hoping to make one embryo from this retrieval."
Munn was prepared to try a few times, but luckily after the first attempt at creating embryos, the couple had two healthy ones.
"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," the "X-Men: Apocalypse" star said.
JOHN MULANEY, OLIVIA MUNN (Chris Willard/Disney via Getty Images)
While she didn’t share specific plans for a second child with Mulaney, Munn said she’s ready to work with a surrogate.
"With a surrogate, you have to try to go find a version of yourself somewhere out in the world. 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 said. "I don’t have the ability to carry a baby anymore, so if we want to build our family, this is our option. 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."
Munn announced her breast cancer diagnosis on March 13 in an Instagram post, explaining she got an MRI after her doctor found her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool to be 37%. The MRI found Luminal B cancer, "an aggressive, fast moving cancer," in both breasts.
She revealed she had undergone genetic testing, saying, "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. That same winter, I also had a normal mammogram."
"Two months later, I was diagnosed with breast cancer."