Olivia Munn’s 2-year-old son, Malcolm, played a role in the healing process during her breast cancer battle.
The Newsroom alum, 43, shared a video of herself laughing with the little one near a pool via her Instagram Story on Monday, April 22. “This moment was last summer when I had already had three surgeries and recovery-mentally and physically- was pretty rough,” she captioned the clip. “The smallest, silliest moments like this lifted me up every single time. My Malcolm.”
Munn, who shares Malcolm with boyfriend John Mulaney, initially posted the same video in January. “If I knew earlier in my life that this magical boy would be in my future, I wouldn’t have worried so much about all the little things,” she wrote at the time.
The actress revealed in March that she was diagnosed with breast cancer 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,” Munn wrote in a lengthy Instagram post. “I tested negative for all, including BRCA (the most well-known breast cancer gene). My sister Sara [Potts] 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, Munn received her diagnosis. “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 ever could have imagined,” she continued.
At the time, Munn explained why she kept her health scare out of the spotlight. “I’ve tended to let people see me when I have energy, when I can get dressed and get out of the house, when I can take my baby boy to the park,” she added. “I’ve kept the diagnosis and the worry and the recovery and the pain medicine and the paper gowns private. I needed to catch my breath and get through some of the hardest parts before sharing.”
Munn described herself as “lucky,” adding, “We caught it with enough time that I had options.I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day.”
Thanking her family and friends “for loving me through this,” Munn concluded, “I’m so thankful to John for the nights he spent researching what every operation and medication meant and what side effects and recovery I could expect. For being there before I went into each surgery and being there when I woke up, always placing framed photos of our little boy Malcolm so it would be the first thing I saw when I opened my eyes.”
Munn has since given a closer look at her recovery, telling People in an interview published Saturday, April 20, how she covered her double mastectomy scars from surgery.
“I have some divots and dents on one side of my body near where the lymph nodes were, and they had to really dig out,” she told the outlet. “And I’ve been wearing some dresses on the red carpet that made me a little stressed out at times.”
Munn also revealed that she grew her hair out to hide the scars. “Sometimes I look in the mirror and I think, ‘Oh, my hair is so long now and it’s because of this,’” she said. “And sometimes it makes me a little sad that I still want to hide certain aspects. But then I remind myself that those are battle wounds and I can show them what I want and I can hide them when I want.”
Navigating her health scare has been a challenge, but Munn is learning to give herself grace. “I don’t beat myself up for anything I’m feeling on any given day, I just let myself feel it,” she added. “There’s a really nice peace that comes with that.”
