With her good looks, talent, and loving relationship with comedian John Mulaney, with whom she shares 2-year-old son Malcolm, Olivia Munn appeared to have it all.
But for the past year, the actress has been undergoing a series of surgeries and treatments as she secretly battled for her life against an “aggressive” form of cancer.
The 43-year-old announced in March that she was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer in both breasts in April 2023.
“I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey,” she posted on Instagram.
While she chose to keep her fight out of the spotlight initially, The Newsroom star has recently opened up about her experience, revealing she had been privately documenting every step of her treatment behind the scenes.
“If I didn’t make it, I wanted my son when he got older to know that I fought to be here,” Munn told Good Morning America. “That I tried my best.”
Munn has undergone five surgeries, including a double mastectomy, a hysterectomy and a oophorectomy, which is a procedure to surgically remove ovaries.
She also began hormone suppression therapy to lessen the likelihood that her cancer would return.
This treatment has put her into a medically induced menopause.
“It’s so tiring,” she said. “These drugs are so tiring and I know that I’m going to stay aggressive, I know I’m going to do it. It feels non-stop because it is non-stop.”
After welcoming their son in November 2021, Munn and Mulaney “don’t feel like we’re done growing our family”, she told US Vogue.
So undergoing a hysterectomy wasn’t an easy choice, but one the actress felt was necessary after the estrogen-suppressing drug Lupron left her bedridden and unable to care for Malcolm.
“It was a big decision to make, but it was the best decision for me because I needed to be present for my family,” she said.
“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.”
And now that she is starting to feel “better, finally”, expanding their family isn’t something the couple have ruled out.
Munn underwent an egg retrieval process ahead of having her ovaries and uterus removed, so surrogacy could be an option for them.
The process meant delaying her cancer treatment and came with some risk, but the results have proved to be very worthwhile.
“At my age, one in every 10 eggs [is] healthy, and we were hoping to make one embryo from this retrieval,” she explained. “A few hours later, we got the call from my doctor. He shared that we had two healthy embryos.
“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.”
