Earlier today, actor Olivia Munn shared on Instagram her Luminal B breast cancer diagnosis. Breast cancer is the second most-common cancer in women in the United States, after skin cancer, and it will account for 30 percent of the new cancer diagnosis that will take place this year.
“In February of 2023, in an effort to be proactive about my health, I took a genetic test that checks you for 90 different cancer genes,” the 43-year-old says. “I tested negative for all, including BRCA. That same winter I also had a normal mammogram. Two months later I was diagnosed with breast cancer.”
Munn gives credit to her OBGYN, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, for catching her cancer a year before she was due for another mammogram. It should be noted that the median age for diagnosis in the United States is 62. How? Because Aliabadi used The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool, also known as the Gail Method.
“While genetics are important, they are not a full picture,” says Dr. Dorraya El-Ashry, the chief scientific officer at the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. “A breast cancer risk assessment looks at numerous factors and should be revisited every five to 10 years as you grow older and each factor (such as child birth or lifestyle behavior) changes.”
The assessment questionnaire, which can be filled out online and takes less than three minutes, takes into account a handful statistics for women over the age of 35 to estimate their percentage of developing breast cancer both within the next five years and within her life. There are a few important caveats, like if you have tested positive for the BRCA1 or BRCA2, The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Tool should not be used—instead, you should simply be in touch with your doctor to understand your risks.
For Munn, the assessment came back with a lifetime risk of 37 percent—a number that seems low, but set off an alarm for Aliabadi. “Because of that score I was sent to get an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy,” Munn says. “The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast moving cancer.” Since then, the mother to 2-year-old Malcom has undergone a double mastectomy along with other surgeries to save her life.
Munn, who is now in recovery, ends her story with a call to action: “I’m lucky. 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. Ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment score. Dr. Aliabadi says that if the number is greater than 20 percent you need annual mammograms and breast MRIs starting at age 30.”
