Olivia Munn has shared the emotional reason she wants to document and detail her experience with cancer.
In a 13 March Instagram post, the 43-year-old mother announced her cancer diagnosis alongside a carousel of images from throughout her journey. “I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey,” she wrote.
Throughout the 10 months prior, the Ride Along 2 actress had undergone four surgeries – including a double mastectomy, hysterectomy, and oophorectomy – after her doctor had calculated her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score and instructed her to get an MRI, ultrasound, and biopsy. Between the photographs of her in hospital gowns, Munn typed out a message with the specifics of how she was diagnosed.
Since then, she’s kept her day-to-day under wraps, mainly posting pictures of time with her two-year-old son, Malcolm. But during a 16 May interview with Michael Strahan for Good Morning America, Munn opened up more about her journey.
Speaking to Strahan, the Magic Mike star confessed her motivation for wanting to take pictures and write notes throughout her experience with breast cancer.
Munn was asked what her first thought was when she became aware of her diagnosis. “Honestly, I just thought of my baby,” she said. “If I didn’t make it, I wanted my son when he got older to know that I fought to be here. That I tried my best.”
In other words, Munn wanted to be prepared with physical evidence for Malcolm to see that she underwent everything she could to try and be there for him.
That said, the Hollywood regular wants more than just to be in his life for as long as she can. Munn and her husband, John Mulaney, hope to bring Malcolm a brother or a sister. Even with the risk of her cancer harming the procedure, Munn went through one round of egg retrieval after her mastectomy.
She told Strahan: “That’s a scary process because I have a cancer that feeds off of hormones, so I knew that there was a risk.
“Our doctor said: ‘Look, we’re gonna get one for you and then we’re gonna call it.’ And then our doctor called and he said: Hey, so we got the results back. It’s two healthy embryos.’ And I, I mean, just started bawling crying. Both of us,” she continued.
Munn and Mulaney are hopeful they’ll be able to add another little one to their family. As of now, she’s been taking a drug that’s meant to stop her body from producing the cancer hormones.
After the on-screen star revealed her health update in March, several friends and fans reached out to send their love and support.
Sophia Bush commented on her Instagram post: “Thank you for sharing all of this. You’re a life saver and a warrior. Sending you so much love.”
“Sending much love,” Kelly Wearstler added.
