Olivia Munn recently said her life looks full on the outside, with family and a return to acting. However, the actor expressed that she also carries a fear that never fully leaves. She recently appeared in a new interview with CBS Sunday Morning.
There, Munn spoke about how her breast cancer diagnosis impacted her life. She spoke about how it changed her views on time, motherhood, and the brief moments people rush through. After everything she has faced, Munn says she tries to stay present for the ordinary day that suddenly means everything.
Olivia Munn on why ‘little moments’ are special to her
Olivia Munn said the hardest part did not end when treatment ended. She described the long stretch afterward as its own struggle, with exhaustion, medication, and what she called “the mental stress of having to look over your shoulder for the rest of your life.” Munn explained that hearing the diagnosis flips a switch, telling CBS, “You just kind of realize, ‘Oh, this happened to me.’”
The “X Men: Apocalypse” actor talked about the fear that followed, especially as a mom. She admitted, “There is this fear that comes over you of like where else has it gone,” adding that she felt “out of control.” Munn said she focused on what she could do next, which led to major medical decisions. This included a double mastectomy, plus an oophorectomy and partial hysterectomy.
Additionally, Munn said she had no symptoms, and doctors found the cancer only after a lifetime risk assessment score led to an MRI, later learning that her public story drove a major rise in women taking that test. The interviewer noted, “Since you went public with your story, the number of women taking that risk assessment test has gone up 4,000%.”
Today, she measures her days in smaller ways. Munn said, “How lucky I am to be exhausted,” while describing the chaos of parenting her young children. And she explained why simple moments now hit so much, telling CBS, “Once you are faced with the possibility of death and not being here, it’s for me all I wanted were the little moments.”
As Olivia Munn says, “Life happens on a Tuesday.”
