Actress Olivia Munn cancer diagnosis highlights importance of screenings
MIAMI - Olivia Munn making an emotional post on Instagram Wednesday. The 43-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer, after testing negative for 90 different cancer genes and two months after having a normal mammogram.
She credits her OBGYN for saving her life after she calculated Munn's breast cancer risk assessment score at 37% and recommended additional testing.
"Knowing your risk is extremely important. Every woman needs to have that discussion with their primary care doctor or their gynecologist or go to a more specialized program to really assess your risk," said Dr. Alejandra Perez, an oncologist at the University of Miami Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center.
After Munn received an MRI, which revealed she had an aggressive form of cancer in both her breasts, she decided to get a double mastectomy.
"Some women need to do that. Some to reduce the risk and some to treat at-risk cancer, like in her case," said Dr. Perez.
For women with a risk of hereditary cancer, it's important to get tested even at a young age.
Tracey Milgram knows about this all too well.
"At the age of 18 years old, I just graduated high school and found my first lump. I was aware as my grandmother had just gone through breast cancer herself," said Milgram.
The lumps were benign, but when Milgram got genetic testing when she was 21 years old, the news she received was alarming.
"I had a 67% risk for ovarian cancer and an 87% risk for breast cancer," said Milgram.
She also found she had a mutated BRCA gene, a gene that's important to fight cancer but can increase the risk of getting it if mutated.
Milgram had a double mastectomy and hysterectomy to protect herself, and started her organization, BRCA Strong, to help educate women about cancer, even teaching them how to check themselves for tumors.
"We also need to be responsible for what going on and do those self-checks," said Milgram.
This Saturday, BRCA Strong is offering free mammogram screenings for those underinsured or uninsured at Coconut Creek Plaza.
For more information, check out their website brcastrong.org.
