Originally appeared on E! Online
Olivia Munn‘s life took an unexpected turn after being diagnosed with cancer.
Like many, the “Newsroom” actress has always been proactive when it comes to her health. In fact, around a year ago, she had a mammogram exam and a BRCA gene test, both of which were negative.
“I was walking around thinking that I had no breast cancer,” she explained to People in an interview published April 17. “I did all the tests that I knew about.”
That is, until three months later when Munn’s doctor, OB-GYN Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, intervened, saving her life when she decided to run another test—the Tyrer-Cuzick risk assessment calculator, on which Munn scored a 37.3 percent. With a high-risk score being considered a 20 percent and higher, her doctor ordered an MRI.
Unlike the other tests Munn had taken, the MRI was not clear and the 43-year-old was called to get an ultrasound the same day, which then led to an emergency biopsy the next day.
Stars React to Olivia Munn’s Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Three days after the biopsy, she was called in to see Dr. Aliabadi, where she was diagnosed with stage 1 Luminal B bilateral breast cancer.
Upon finding cancer in both breasts, the doctors told her that a double mastectomy would be her best option.
Although she wasn’t keen on the idea, she told the outlet that, “at that point it was like, that’s my only option, I felt, to be aggressive and to give myself the best shot at overcoming this.”
So she went through with the life-changing operation.
“I saw myself for the first time and I was in shock,” she explained of seeing herself in the doctor’s office after the surgery. “It was incredibly hard,”
Munn, who shares 2-year-old son Malcolm with John Mulaney, continued, “When I got home, I undressed and looked in the mirror again, and that’s when I just absolutely broke down.”
The reconstruction procedure eased some of that shock for Munn. “It’s much better, but it’s not the same,” she explained. “And that’s okay because I’m here and I’m okay with that now.”
And despite the hardships the operation created for her, the former “Daily Show” correspondent is thankful for it nonetheless.
“I’m extremely happy that I had the option to have a double mastectomy,” she shared. “I’m extremely happy that I got the opportunity to fight.”
And this wasn’t the only procedure Munn underwent. She had four surgeries over the course of 10 months, including lymph node dissection and a nipple delay procedure.
Despite all she’s been through, she still has a lot to smile about— one of those things being her son.
“When I’m with Malcolm, it’s really the only time your brain doesn’t think about that you’re sick,” she shared. “It really puts a lot of stuff into perspective because if my body changes, I’m still his mom. If I have hot flashes, I’m still his mom. If I lose my hair, I’m still his mom. That’s really what matters the most to me, I get to be here for him.”