Olivia Munn's breast cancer diagnosis raising awareness for women to seek additional screening
Actress Olivia Munn's announcement about her private battle with breast cancer has gone viral since news broke early Wednesday morning.
In the hours since, the video has been shared all over the world, showing the moments that she's comforted by her doctor as she prepares for treatment.
Since her diagnosis last year, she's had four surgeries, including a double mastectomy.
"I hope by sharing this it will help others find comfort, inspiration and support on their own journey," Munn's post said.
Her diagnosis came even after the actress got a mammogram that came back normal and even took a test to trace cancer genes.
The post continued, detailing the lengthy journey and how one physician's recommendation for extra screening made all the difference.
Their suggestion to calculate Munn's "Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score" which revealed that her lifetime risk was high at 37%, leading to more testing and eventually her diagnosis.
She's now sharing her story hoping that others can find comfort, inspiration and support and doctors are saying that the new public awareness could save many more lives.
"I'm very, very happy she is spreading the word, though," said Dr. Amanda Woodworth, a breast surgeon at Keck Medicine of USC. "A lot of women do not realize that we recommend a risk assessment for all women, and the American College of Radiology recommends this risk assessment starting at age 25."
Woodworth says that assessments are available for free online and can be found by Googling "Breast Cancer Risk Quiz." On top of this, she recommends the Tyrer-Cuzick Calculator, which calculates a woman's risk of developing breast cancer by asking a series of questions about a patient's medical and family history.
"It asks for your age, your heigh, your weight, when you started your periods, when you stopped, family history. That's all in there, so you can calculate it yourself," she said.
Once you have your results, she suggests discussing them with your doctor to determine if next steps are necessary. Any result over 20% risk qualifies for an annual MRI.
In Munn's case, Woodward says that the test led to an MRI and a biopsy that showed she had an aggressive and fast-moving cancer in both of her breasts.
While scary for many, Dr. Woodworth says that getting answers can give options.
"I really feel like no woman should ever die of breast cancer. We have such amazing tools for early detection and there's no reason we should not be detecting women at their earliest possible stages," she said.
MRIs are typically covered by insurance as part of a diagnostic study. The American Cancer Society is currently fighting to have them covered as part of the screening for women who qualify.
More from CBS News
Related articles
Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. to lead Indianapolis 500 field in Corvette pace car
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Hall of Fame outfielder Ken Griffey Jr. will drive the pace car for the 108th ru2024-05-21The OTHER glamorous aide supporting Trump at his trial: Meet his golf partner Natalie Harp
He may be stuck in criminal court and frustrated he can't be on the campaign trail.But Donald Trump2024-05-21Marte hits tying homer in 9th, Grichuk has winning double in 10th, D
PHOENIX (AP) — Ketel Marte hit a tying solo homer with two outs in the ninth, and Randal Grichuk won2024-05-21Baby not on board! Mother with three
A new mother is leaving shame notes on the cars of drivers who park on the pavement and block her pr2024-05-21OpenAI pauses ChatGPT voice after Scarlett Johansson comparisons
NEW YORK (AP) — OpenAI says it plans to halt the use of one of its ChatGPT voices after some users s2024-05-21Catholic officials in Brooklyn agree to an independent oversight of clergy sex abuse allegations
NEW YORK (AP) — An independent monitor will oversee the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn’s handlin2024-05-21
atest comment