Prostate Cancer Screening and Early Detection
A Valuable Lesson I Learned While Living With Breast Cancer
When I was diagnosed with breast cancer, I never dreamed I'd learn so many valuable life lessons along the way.
Normally, I'm not a negative person. In fact, I'm completely the opposite – a Pollyanna, always looking for the good in situations. That was the way I was long before cancer entered my life, but when I was diagnosed, things changed. I began to see little bits of negativity emerge.
When I was about halfway through radiation, my skin began to burn and peel. Little thoughts would creep in telling me I was going to be irreversibly scarred for life, that I wouldn't be the same. I knew the surgical incisions would be with me forever and the radiation burns, too, but I wasn't prepared for the mental scarring. A little voice started to tell me I wasn't good enough, I was less than, and I started to listen. That was the first mistake. I should have known better.
Throughout recovery, I was bombarded with thoughts and emotions. I found myself focusing on problems and things I couldn't do. I became frustrated and often found myself crying. I never said, "Woe is me," out loud, though I felt like saying it. I wanted others to understand how I was feeling. I wanted them to grasp the overwhelming sadness of my situation, but who could understand looking in from the outside? The overwhelming feelings screamed, "It's time for a pity party!" Guess who found herself going? Me.
The first pity party I attended didn't last long. I shook it off and told myself I'd be okay. I thought I could handle it, but more invitations came – especially on days when I was tired or in physical pain. I quickly accepted the invitations and before I realized it, I was wallowing in a pit of despair, one so deep, I was afraid I wouldn't be able to climb out.
Instead of asking for help, I did some online research on ways to cope with feelings of hopelessness, doubt, and negativity. I found some good information and started to implement it.
The next time I felt down in the dumps and got an invitation, I decided to attend the party but only for a few minutes. I needed to validate my feelings, I thought, then I'd leave. It felt good to know I had the power to choose the length of time I attended. After realizing that, I found how easy it was to shift my focus to something else, so I didn't focus solely on my health issues. I could journal or take a walk. I could find healthy ways of moving through feelings without getting stuck in a never-ending cycle of self-pity.
I realized I had the power to choose how I'd react when those whispers of "No one cares about you," came and it felt good. It wasn't easy at first. It took practice, but limiting the time I felt sorry for myself was a good beginning.
To this day, eleven years post-diagnosis, I still get invitations to pity parties. I won't lie, sometimes I accept them readily. I'll sit in my closet and cry over my breastlessness, or the terrible heaviness lymphedema causes in my limbs, but then I tell myself, "That's enough! Be thankful you're alive!" And when I hear myself saying those words, I shake myself out of it, dry my tears, and get busy doing something productive.
Pity parties aren't healthy. They're downright dangerous and if you stay too long, you'll more than likely regret it.
Parties are supposed to be fun, not filled with sadness and regret. If you receive an invitation to a pity party, respond with a fast no thank you. Trust me, you'll be glad you did.
Breast cancer can become a convenient excuse for many things, but please don't let it extend invitations to pity parties. As a survivor, you've already proven you have the strength to overcome, don't let whispered invitations to pity parties ruin that superpower.
This piece reflects the author's personal experience and perspective as a breast cancer survivor. For medical advice, please consult your health care provider.
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Olivia Munn Reveals Mom Was Diagnosed With Breast Cancer After Her Own 2023 Diagnosis
Olivia Munn is opening up about her mom's breast cancer diagnosis.
The "Your Friends and Neighbors" star, 45, took to Instagram on Wednesday and revealed that her mom was diagnosed with Stage 1 HER2 breast cancer after Munn's own breast cancer diagnosis in 2023.
"Going through cancer is really hard," Munn wrote in a statement shared in the post. "But there's something about watching a loved one go through it that is even more heartbreaking."
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In the statement, Munn wrote that she "urged my mother and sister to take the Breast Cancer Lifetime Risk Assessment test" after receiving her diagnosis in 2023.
According to the Susan G. Komen foundation, the test is a tool "often used by health care providers to estimate breast cancer risk."
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, former ABC News chief medical correspondent and a board-certified OB-GYN, said in a 2024 interview that the test "helps to provide an actual numerical risk for lifetime risk of breast cancer and breast cancer diagnosis in the next five years."
"It is what we use in medicine to stratify a woman's individual risk in a more precise way," Ashton added.
According to the American College of Radiology, people with 20% or greater lifetime risk of breast cancer are considered high risk.
Munn said that her mother scored 26.2% on the IBIS, or the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment test, and because of that score, she wanted her mom to get an MRI, which led to learning about her Stage 1 HER2 breast cancer diagnosis.
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The American Cancer Society describes HER2 as a "protein that helps breast cancer cells grow quickly."
"Breast cancer cells with higher than normal levels of HER2 are called HER2-positive," the ACS states. "These cancers tend to grow and spread faster than breast cancers that are HER2-negative, but are much more likely to respond to treatment with drugs that target the HER2 protein."
Munn said her mom "completed 12 rounds of chemo" after her diagnosis "and will continue monthly Herceptin transfusions this fall."
"I spent many nights taking care of my mom when the chemo became too much, wishing I could fight the fight for her, even if only for a day to give her a little break," she continued. "It's no small feat to realize you can't do it for them. To anyone out there who is taking care of someone or has made it their profession to do so, thank you. These fights can feel near impossible without you."
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LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JUNE 10: Olivia Munn attends the 2025 Astra TV Awards at SLS Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Beverly Hills on June 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Phillip Faraone/Getty Images)
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images
Munn said the Tyrer-Cuzick Risk Assessment "saved my life and now my mom's."
The Tyrer-Cuzick model, or IBIS, is a type of breast cancer risk calculator. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, this calculator is one of a few options that physicians can use to calculate lifetime risk of breast cancer.
"My mom wanted me to tell you that she hopes by sharing her story it will save someone's life," Munn said.
"I want to say how proud I am of my mom," she added. "She's handled all of this with bravery and humor while still driving us crazy (just days after her double mastectomy she tried to do laundry and make dinner -- she's insane)."
She thanked "the hospital nurses, patient coordinators and staff who have taken care of my mother," as well as her mother's primary care physician and oncologists, before thanking her own doctors as well.
Munn previously opened up about her private battle with breast cancer in a 2024 Instagram post. At the time, she revealed she had been diagnosed with Stage 1 aggressive Luminal B breast cancer in April 2023 and underwent a double mastectomy 30 days later.
Since then, Munn has been open about her experience, sharing her story to urge other women to get tested and to raise awareness about the disease.
"I'm lucky," she said in her 2024 Instagram post about her diagnosis. "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."
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