Olivia Munn’s – Olivia Munn posted an emotional Instagram video from the moments before her double mastectomy in 2023, describing surgeries that included a hysterectomy and oophorectomy and praising her gynecologist for staying with her through the pre-surgery anxiety.
Olivia Munn didn’t share her cancer story with polish—she shared it with tears.
In a candid Instagram post dated Wednesday, June 10, the 45-year-old actress wrote that she has undergone several surgeries after being diagnosed with breast cancer, including a double mastectomy in 2023 and later procedures involving her reproductive organs.
The video shows her being comforted by her gynecologist, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, moments before surgery. Aliabadi hugs Munn as Munn wipes away tears. In the clip, Aliabadi says, “This stuff doesn’t matter,” referring to Munn’s breasts. She adds, “I love you. I’m going to be there with you.”
Munn described what she says she had done as she explained the full extent of her treatment: “an oophorectomy and hysterectomy. I took out my uterus, fallopian rubes, and ovaries.” She also says she underwent a double mastectomy—known as a bilateral mastectomy—after her diagnosis in 2023.
A bilateral mastectomy is a surgical procedure that removes both breasts to treat breast cancer or reduce the risk of developing the disease. It can be used for people diagnosed with breast cancer as well as for individuals at high risk of developing it.
In the Instagram caption, Munn pushed back against the idea that care is something you simply receive on a schedule. “One of my biggest pieces of advice when you are about to begin the biggest battle of your life is to find a team of doctors who listen to your needs. your fears and treat you like a person. not just a patient. ” she wrote. calling Aliabadi an “angel walking among us.”.
She also emphasized the way Aliabadi showed up on surgery day. “My OB/GYN [Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi] does not perform double mastectomies. yet here she is on the day of mine comforting me on the way into surgery and staying the entire time watching over me. ” Munn wrote. She added that Aliabadi “cares for the wellbeing of her patients even when it’s after hours.”.
Munn said she doesn’t want anyone to face a similar situation. “I don’t wish cancer on anyone, however, if you do find yourself in my same situation, I hope you find a doctor like her.”
Her posting comes after she discussed her recovery earlier this year on “CBS News Sunday Morning” in March. She told the program that some parts of her treatment can be “so exhausting,” but she is “lucky” to be in her position.
“I don’t look at it like cancer has taken these things from me or it’s unfair that I have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life. ” Munn said. “I know that I’m lucky to be here. and I am so lucky that I’m in this chaos and I haven’t slept in a few days and I’m exhausted. It’s a true privilege to just be alive in the world.”.
The sequence of her posts and interviews is stark because it centers the human moments that don’t make it into medical summaries: a hug before surgery. a doctor staying. and the exhaustion that can hang over every day afterward. Munn’s account makes clear that for her. treatment was not just a set of procedures—it was also the presence of someone who treated fear as real.
Olivia Munn breast cancer double mastectomy hysterectomy oophorectomy Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi Instagram surgery video women's health