Olivia Munn Shares Her Story of Undergoing Hysterectomy in the Midst of Fighting Cancer

Olivia Munn Shares Her Story of Undergoing Hysterectomy in the Midst of Fighting Cancer
This Mother's Day, Olivia Munn shares some heartbreaking yet hopeful news amidst her recovery from breast cancer. The 43-year-old revealed that back in April, she decided to undergo a full hysterectomy, which marked her fifth surgery since she was diagnosed with the disease last year. "I've now had an oophorectomy and a hysterectomy," she told Vogue in an interview posted on May 12, two months after she announced the diagnosis of luminal B breast cancer in both breasts. "I had my uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries removed." According to the magazine, Munn decided to undergo the procedure rather than continue taking injections of Lupron, or leuprolide, which lowers the body's level of estrogen-a hormone that feeds her type of cancer. The drug, which is also often used routinely in IVF treatments and egg freezing, can cause some side effects such as extreme fatigue. For Munn, it was unbearable. "It was a debilitating high level of fatigue," she says. "I would wake up in the morning and immediately want to go back to bed." The Newsroom alum, who has a son, Malcolm, 2, with partner John Mulaney, continues, "If you ask Malcolm, 'Where does Daddy work?" He'll run to his desk, and if you ask him, 'Where does Mommy work?' He'll point to my bed. It's very sweet. But at the same time, it breaks my heart because this is his image of me." Previously, Munn underwent a full double mastectomy to remove all the tissue in both her breasts, lymph node dissection, reconstructive breast surgery and nipple deferral, which increases blood flow and circulation to the pre-mastectomy area. She told Vogue that although the full hysterectomy was a big decision, it was the best for her, adding, "I need to be present for my family." Although the actress will not be able to get pregnant, she and John still plan to expand their family through surrogacy. Munn told Vogue that she has frozen her eggs three times since the age of 33, most recently last year after learning she had breast cancer, and that "two healthy embryos" were created from the last IVF process. "Surrogacy is not a scary prospect for me anymore because there's nothing I can do about it," Munn said. "I don't have the ability to carry a baby anymore, so if we want to build a family, this is our choice."
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