Olivia Munn says she’s feeling “better, finally” while undergoing aggressive treatment for an aggressive cancer: In March, the actor shared that she had been diagnosed with Luminal B cancer in both breasts and had undergone a double mastectomy as part of her treatment.
In a new interview with Vogue, published Sunday, Munn shared several specifics of the surgeries she’d undergone in response to the illness, as well as that she and partner John Mulaney, who share two-and-a-half-year-old son Malcolm, “don’t feel like we’re done growing our family,” though her treatment means carrying another pregnancy herself is not an option for her.
Munn has gone beyond urging her followers to be vigilant with their own health, and has shared the specifics of what led to her diagnosis, and what has come after. Namely: The aforementioned full double mastectomy, lymph node dissection, reconstructive breast surgery, a procedure called a nipple delay that provides different blood flow pathways to preserve her nipples after removing her breast tissue in the mastectomy, and, as of last month, an oophorectomy and hysterectomy.
“I took out my uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries,” 42-year-old Munn told Vogue. “Aggressive cancers need aggressive treatments.”
Because her type of cancer fed on estrogen, she took a drug to force her body into menopause, which caused “debilitating, next-level exhaustion.” She opted for her most recent procedures, though it means she won’t be able to carry another pregnancy, to make the most of her quality of life with her son.
“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.”
However, that doesn’t mean that there won’t be any more babies for Munn and Mulaney. Munn had previously frozen her eggs, and discussed how egg quality can differ from month to month, and dramatically declines with age. “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 didn’t know if I would have to do chemotherapy or radiation.”
The actor was refreshingly specific about the process: She shared that doctors had harvested seven eggs—fewer than she’d initially hoped for—and come away with two healthy embryos, more than she’d thought. She and Mulaney had been hoping for just one shot at growing their family, and when doctors shared the news that two embryos were healthy, “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.”
She then had her reproductive organs removed, which allowed her to rid herself of the hormones that can spur cancerous cells to regrow. Munn spoke of the possibility of growing her family with Mulaney in the future with the help of a surrogate.
“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.”
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