Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is sharing the most personal chapter of her life — a stage I cervical cancer diagnosis and the emotional toll it has taken on her family.
During an April 2026 appearance on Good Morning America, the Jersey Shore: Family Vacation star revealed that her three children have been struggling with the news of her illness.
“[My kids] keep asking, ‘Are you dying?'” Snooki said. “And I’m like, ‘No, I’m not dying, I’m just sick. And I need to figure it out and then Mommy will be fine.'”
Snooki shares her three children — Lorenzo, Giovanna and Angelo — with husband Jionni LaValle.
Keep scrolling to read Snooki’s quotes about her cancer battle:
Nicole Polizzi Confirms Her Health Scare
Snooki first addressed her health publicly in an emotional TikTok video shared in January 2026.
“I’m scared and freaking out,” Snooki said, noting she decided to make the PSA for “awareness to stay on top of your appointments because I was not great with that.”
She continued, “I’ve been having issues with getting abnormal results. Pre-cancerous results. Pre-cancer cells in your cervix. I’ve been dealing with this for probably three or four years now.”
At the time, Snooki was still waiting on biopsy results, which came back nearly one month later.
A Diagnosis
Snooki announced in February 2026 that she had been diagnosed with stage I cervical cancer after undergoing a biopsy test.
“Obviously, not the news that I was hoping for,” she said. “But also not the worst news, just because they caught it so early.”
Snooki further reminded followers to get their pap smears, an annual test that can detect cancer.
“That’s why I’m literally telling you guys to get your pap smears done. I’m 38 years old. I’ve been struggling with abnormal pap smears for like, three, four years now,” she said at the time. “And now look at me, and instead of just, like, putting it off because I didn’t want to go, and it hurt and I was scared, no, I just went and did it, [and] cancer’s in there, and it’s only stage I and it’s curable.”
Two days after her announcement, Jersey Shore costar Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino posted a message of support.
“Sending prayers full of love, promotion and healing to our girl @snooki,” Sorrentino wrote on Sunday, Feb. 22, alongside a bandaged heart emoji and a throwback photo featuring Snooki.
Plans for a Hysterectomy
In her GMA interview, Snooki said that she is “scared” about her upcoming hysterectomy.
“When [my doctor] first said we have to do this or it’s gonna escalate to stage II — I know I’m done with kids, just knowing that you can’t, made me feel like I’m not a mom,” the reality TV star said. “Even though I’m done.”
Turning Her Platform Into a Purpose
What began as a tearful TikTok in January 2026 has turned into something bigger for Snooki.
“I feel like I need to share it because nobody talks about [cervical cancer],” she said on GMA in April 2026. “I just kept putting [appointments] off, I didn’t like it. Like, ‘Why were you so scared?’ Now we’re not putting off any more appointments.”
This story was compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists.
