Olivia Munn reveals the ‘shock’ of seeing her body in the mirror after undergoing a double mastectomy: ‘I completely collapsed’

Olivia Munn described the “shock” she experienced when she saw her body for the first time after a double mastectomy.

The actress, 43, had undergone a lymph node dissection, a nipple delay procedure and a double mastectomy during her battle with breast cancer, after being diagnosed about a year ago and undergoing all operations in the space of 10 months.

The mother-of-one revealed that “nothing” could have prepared her for “what it would look like” in a candid new interview with Peopleadding that she “completely broke down.”

A week after having the double mastectomy, she went for a post-surgical check-up, which was when she saw her body without bandages for the first time with her doctor.

‘It was a shock. It was a shock to my system. I had a really hard time, I remember just looking in the mirror with him and not feeling any emotion, just taking in what he was saying,” she shared.

Munn woke up from her 10-hour double mastectomy on May 24, 2023 and opted for expanders instead of immediate reconstructive surgery to give her body time to heal and rest.

Expanders are silicone implants that are placed under the muscles or tissues of the chest wall to gradually stretch the skin and create space for permanent breast implants.

The Predator star, who shares son Malcolm, two, with her boyfriend, comedian John Mulaney, 41, said when she met for the first time: “I was shocked. It was incredibly difficult.”

‘I really tried to be prepared, but the truth is that nothing could prepare me for how I would feel, what it would be like, how I would handle it emotionally. “It was a lot harder than I expected.”

He said even the doctor’s assurances that the results looked “fantastic” couldn’t be any consolation at the time.

‘The doctor was telling me how fantastic he looked. Which made it even more difficult. Because the fantastic is the best, there is nothing better than the fantastic. Then I thought, this isn’t getting any better.’

“When I got home, I got naked and looked in the mirror again, and that’s when I completely broke down,” she added.

After undergoing reconstructive surgery in the fall, Munn has embraced the changes in her body.

She also began hormone suppression therapy in November to reduce her future risk of cancer, which led to a medically induced menopause, causing hot flashes, hair loss and exhaustion.

‘It’s much better, but it’s not the same, and that’s okay. “Because I’m here and I’m very happy that I had the opportunity to fight,” she said.

“I was given that opportunity and I know a lot of people in my situation don’t have that option.” So I’m very grateful.”

Munn revealed that during surgery, doctors discovered a tangerine-sized section of ductal carcinoma in situ (a pre-invasive cancer) in her right breast.

“Hearing that news gave me peace of mind that I had made the right decision.”

The star has also come to terms with her ‘battle wounds’ (scars and dents from her lymph node surgery) and is now focusing on raising awareness for other women at risk of breast cancer.

Elsewhere in the cover interview she added that her cancer diagnosis was “much scarier” because she was caring for her son Malcolm.

Malcolm was just one year old when Olivia discovered she had cancer, although she didn’t make the news public until March this year.

Olivia’s cancer battle began last year with a surprising diagnosis, just three months after she had a mammogram that indicated she was healthy.

His astonishment was compounded by the fact that shortly before he had tested negative for a mutation in a cancer gene.

She “did every test she knew” and as a result was “walking around thinking I didn’t have breast cancer” shortly before she was diagnosed.

When she received the news that she had cancer in both breasts, she ‘wasn’t someone who was obsessed with death or afraid of it in any way’ but confessed that ‘having a little baby at home made everything so much scarier.’

Olivia, who at the time was about to start shooting a movie, realized that ‘cancer doesn’t care who you are; It doesn’t matter if you have a baby or if you don’t have time. It’s coming at you and you have no choice but to face it head on.

Although having little Malcolm home made the initial news more terrifying, the task of caring for him helped Olivia cope with his treatment.

‘When I’m with him, it’s the only time my brain doesn’t think about being sick. “I’m very happy with him,” she explained.

And it puts a lot of things into perspective. Because if my body changes, I’m still his mom. If I have hot flashes, I’m still their mom. If I lose my hair, I’m still his mom. That’s really what matters most to me. I can be here for him.’

She shared that when she underwent reconstructive surgery after her double mastectomy, she opted for smaller breasts instead of larger ones.

“I know that many women want to grow, but [I said] go smaller. “It’s very important to say what you want out loud and not stop,” he stated. “Even when the anesthesia was entering my body, the last thing I said was, ‘Please make it smaller.’

Having John around also helped his soldier overcome his fight against his illness, which “would have been like climbing an iceberg without him.”

She recalls, “I don’t think he had a moment to himself, between being an incredibly hands-on dad and going back and forth to the hospital: taking Malcolm to the park, making him take a nap, driving to Cedars-Sinai, hanging out with me, going to home, put Malcolm to bed, and came back to me. And he did it all happily.”

Olivia also shed light on her decision to remain secret about her battle with cancer until months after undergoing her double mastectomy.

“Keeping it private for as long as I did it gave me time to fight without any outside noise,” the Oklahoma native said.