Olivia Munn Says She's In Medically Induced Menopause Due to Breast Cancer Treatment

Munn publicly shared her breast cancer diagnosis in March.

Olivia Munn is speaking out publicly for the first time since sharing her breast cancer diagnosis

In March, the New Girl actress detailed via Instagram the journey of her shocking diagnosis of Luminal B cancer, which she described as "aggressive" and "fast moving" in both breasts last year.

"In February of 2023, in an effort to be proactive about my health, I took a genetic test that checks you for 90 different cancer genes," she wrote in a statement. "I tested negative for all, including BRCA (the most well-known breast cancer gene). My sister, Sara, had just tested negative as well. We called each other and high-fived over the phone. That same winter I also had a normal mammogram. Two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer."

Olivia Munn went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in March. - Karwai Tang/WireImage

Munn shared that as a result, she underwent a series of biopsies, surgeries, a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery in a span of 10 months. 

Speaking with People, Munn shares that so far, she has not had to undergo chemotherapy or radiation treatments, but she began hormone suppression therapy to lower her risk of the cancer returning in the future. As a result, the 43-year-old actress says she she is now in medically-induced menopause. 

"I'm constantly thinking it's hot, my hair is thinning, and I'm tired a lot," she tells People in the latest edition of the magazine. 

The actress recalls the short timeline between coming out of postpartum following the birth of her son, Malcolm -- whom she shares with John Mulaney -- to her cancer diagnosis, and not feeling like she had time to be back in the body she had known before.

"I took some more time to  start to work out and eat in a more healthy way, after my postpartum lifted and then I started feeling like myself again, and then I started feeling better," she says to People. "And then the diagnosis, and then understanding that the diagnosis means that my body is going to change yet again. And I really didn't have a moment to catch my breath, I haven't really felt like I've been back in the body that I knew before. But that's OK for me. It truly is, I feel so happy that I got myself through it." 

Coming out on the other side of her diagnosis, Munn says that it's 2-year-old Malcolm who keeps her mind off of cancer. 

"When I'm with him, it's the only time my brain doesn’t think about being sick," she says. "I'm just so happy with him. And it 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."

Olivia Munn credits her partner John Mulaney for being by her side during her breast cancer journey. - Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Munn and Mulaney have been together since 2021. In the post sharing her diagnosis, the Saturday Night Live alum expressed his gratitude towards Munn for her fight.

"Thank you for fighting so hard to be here for us," Mulaney wrote. "Malc and I adore you."

Munn credits the comedian for stepping up and being there to offer support and take care of her son amid her treatment and surgeries. 

"It would've felt like climbing an iceberg without him," Munn tells People. "I don't think he had a moment to himself, between being an incredibly hands-on father and going to and from the hospital—taking Malcolm to the park, putting him to nap, driving to Cedars-Sinai, hanging out with me, going home, putting Malcolm to bed, coming back to me. And he did it all happily."

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