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Home » Olivia Munn, 43, Reveals She Had A Hysterectomy During Her Battle With Breast Cancer: ‘I Had A Real Breakdown’

Olivia Munn, 43, Reveals She Had A Hysterectomy During Her Battle With Breast Cancer: ‘I Had A Real Breakdown’

Olivia Munn has had a ‘full hysterectomy’ in her ongoing cancer fight, just two months after revealing she had a double mastectomy.

The actress said she underwent the fifth surgery of her breast cancer battle last month in a bid to see more of her two-year-old son’s childhood.

‘I have now had a full hysterectomy. I took out my uterus, fallopian tubes, and ovaries,’ Munn, 43, told Vogue in a profile for Mothers’ Day.

‘Doing a full hysterectomy was a big decision to make, but it was the best decision for me because I needed to be present for my family.’

Newsroom star Olivia Munn gave a Mothers’ Day update on her breast cancer battle

The 43-year-old revealed she had now undergone her fifth major surgery since being diagnosed with Luminal B cancer in both breasts in April of last year

‘Doing a full hysterectomy 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

What is Luminal B breast cancer?

Only about 10 percent of breast cancer cases are Luminal B

Luminal B breast cancers are faster growing, more aggressive and more challenging to treat than other common subtypes

But symptoms are similar, including:

  • Lump or mass in the breast
  • Swelling in part of or the whole breast
  • Dimples in the breast skin
  • Pain in the breast or nipple

Source: Cancer Center

The Newsroom star who is married to comedian John Mulaney said she took the decision after being given a choice between the hysterectomy and taking anti-hormone medicines that would have left her bedridden.

‘I did have one real moment of panic,’ she said.

‘A real breakdown. 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.’

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a woman’s uterus to treat a range of health conditions.

In some cases, doctors may suggest a hysterectomy as a preventative measure if a woman has significant warning or early signs of developing one or more of these conditions.

When necessary, surgeons may also remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes, if these have also been damaged or are at serious risk of damage.

Munn was diagnosed in April last year, just two months after she and her sister Sara tested negative after a genetic analysis that checks for 90 genes associated with cancer.

‘We called each other and high-fived over the phone. The same winter I also had a negative mammogram,’ she revealed in March this year.

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

‘The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast moving cancer.

‘Thirty 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.’

Olivia, attended the Oscars in March alongside John Mulaney who she has dated since 2021

The couple are parents to two-year-old son Malcolm Hiệp Mulaney

She revealed her cancer diagnosis in March saying she had ‘learned more about cancer, cancer treatment and hormones than I could ever have imagined’

She revealed last week that a sprained ankle had added another irritant to her cancer battle

WHAT IS A HYSTERECTOMY?

A hysterectomy is a surgical procedure to remove a woman’s uterus.

There are three kinds:

  • PARTIAL HYSTERECTOMY: Removes two-thirds of the uterus.
  • TOTAL HYSTERECTOMY: Removes uterus and cervix.
  • RADICAL HYSTERECTOMY: Removes uterus, cervix and ovaries.

The operation is most commonly performed on women between the ages of 40 and 49.

More than 20 million American women have had a hysterectomy, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As women approach menopause, the odds that they will develop one of several serious uterine health conditions increases. Doctors may recommend a hysterectomy as a treatment for:

  • fibroids
  • endometriosis
  • uterine (endometrial) cancer
  • chronic uterine pain or bleeding
  • collapsed uterus

In some cases, doctors may suggest a hysterectomy as a preventative measure if a woman has significant warning or early signs of developing one or more of these conditions.

When necessary, surgeons may also remove the ovaries and fallopian tubes, if these have also been damaged or are at serious risk of damage.

The removal of reproductive organs sends a woman’s body into menopause, no matter how old she is.

This comes with unpleasant side effects like hot flashes, and many women have to start hormone therapy, taking estrogen to balance out their own hormones.

‘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.’

She and Mulaney, 41, were able to create two ‘healthy embryos’ after her latest round of egg retrieval although the hysterectomy means she will not be able to carry any more children.

‘It’s interesting because my 33-year-old eggs were great. My 39-year-old eggs? None of them worked,’ she said.

‘As you get older, one month can have great eggs, the other not so much. Clearly, the month we did at 39 was not a good month.

‘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 former Daily Show correspondent was up on her feet for just a few weeks after her latest operation before spraining her ankle, she revealed on Instagram last week.

She shared a brief video of her in light blue short shorts and and a matching shirt, with a black brace on her left ankle.

The video – set to the Curb Your Enthusiasm theme – shows her zooming in on her ankle, first teasing that she suffered the injury in a much more serious way.

‘I sprained my ankle jumping out of a plane today. And by plane I mean I tripped in a CVS parking lot,’ she told her followers.

Munn who shares son Malcolm, 2, with Mulaney, said she worried about the impact of her illness on her family.

‘I had friends try to cheer me up by saying, ‘Malcolm’s not going to remember this. Don’t worry’,’ she said.

‘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.’