Olivia Munn says her breast cancer diagnosis taught her to let go of the “extra baggage” in her life.
“When I got the diagnosis, immediately, the negative thoughts in my head, I dropped all of that,” she said.
Despite being more common in middle-aged and older women, breast cancer is rising among women under 50.
Olivia Munn, 44, says her breast cancer diagnosis forced her to confront her priorities in life.
On Monday’s episode of “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,” Munn spoke about how her cancer journey prompted her to let go of distractions and focus on the things she truly cared about.
The “X-Men: Apocalypse” actor was diagnosed with breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy in 2023.
“When I got the diagnosis, immediately, the negative thoughts in my head, I dropped all of that. Because when you are diagnosed with cancer you have one job,” Munn told podcast host Dax Shepard.
Munn said her sole focus at that point in time became recovery, and with all her energy dedicated to surviving cancer, she had no room to think about anything else.
“That’s all your mind is thinking about, and you’re like ‘How do I get through this? How do I get through this? How do I live? How do I survive?’ Because there’s no way to climb Everest with extra baggage on your shoulders,” Munn said.
When she recovered, she realized the experience had completely changed her mindset.
“I’m like, oh, now that I got to the other side, I’m not going to — I can’t imagine picking it back up,” Munn said.
“That’s what cancer did for me,” she added. “It was literally one step at a time, right, so when I have the thoughts that creep in, I think very quickly and let it go.”
Munn isn’t the only public figure who has publicly spoken about their cancer journey.
In April 2024, Shannen Doherty had said on her podcast that she was getting rid of some of her belongings after her breast cancer returned as stage 4. Doherty died in July 2024 at 53.
In November, Kathy Bates said that she decided against having reconstruction surgery after getting a double mastectomy in 2012 due to breast cancer.
In the US, breast cancer accounts for about 30% of all new cancer diagnoses in women each year, per data from the American Cancer Society. Although breast cancer mainly occurs in middle-aged and older women, the disease is on the rise among those who are 50 and below.
A representative for Munn did not immediately respond to a request for comment sent by Business Insider outside regular hours.
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