Olivia Munn’s diagnosis, BRCA & Risk Assessments
American actress Olivia Munn recently went public with a breast cancer diagnosis at 43 years old.
Let’s talk about the important information she shared about her journey.
American actress Olivia Munn has recently shared a very impactful story about her breast cancer diagnosis at 43 years old. Munn stated on her social media account (which you can find here) that she was diagnosed with Luminal B breast cancer in both breasts, a form that is known to be quite aggressive. Within a month of her diagnosis, she underwent a double mastectomy.
What I find really important about Munn’s story is how she was diagnosed with breast cancer. Munn explains in her interviews that she had two important screenings months before the diagnosis. One was a mammogram, which came back negative. The other was the genetic BRCA testing panel, which also came back negative. (You can find her interviews here at CBSnews.com and at Dailymail.co.uk)
I’d love to dig deeper into the BRCA testing for a moment.
As a Breast Health Educator with the Know Your Lemons Foundation, I find the statistic that shocks my students most is that 85-90% of women diagnosed with breast cancer are BRCA negative.
Source: www.knowyourlemons.org
BRCA testing is a very useful tool for the diagnosis and treatment plans for both breast and ovarian cancers in women. While its information is helpful, it does not conclusively determine whether you will or will not develop either of the cancers it screens; it is more a piece of the informational pie, so to speak. This does not negate the importance of the BRCA test for breast cancer but rather highlights that women should stay vigilant toward breast health and breast cancer screening even though they may receive a negative BRCA test.
To read more about the uses of the BRCA test, you can find information here from the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
So, you might ask, how was Olivia Munn diagnosed with breast cancer?
Munn’s breast cancer was diagnosed from a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment, or at least that’s where her journey began. Due to her assessment’s elevated score, her doctor ordered additional screenings - an MRI and an Ultrasound - which led to a biopsy and her eventual diagnosis. In an interview, Munn states that without this assessment, her cancer could have spread rapidly as she probably wouldn’t have checked her breasts again until her next mammogram. Munn credits the doctor who performed this assessment with saving her life.
Source: Dailymail.co.uk
What is a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment?
It is a short questionnaire that evaluates breast cancer risk by using both personal and medical histories. This can include reproductive history, lifestyle choices, familiar breast cancer history, BRCA results and other information to estimate breast cancer probability. These assessments are usually quite short, with less than 15 questions, resulting in a score or recommendation. These are not diagnostic; they can not tell you if you have or will have breast cancer. The purpose of the assessment is to estimate the probability based on your circumstances. You can share this information with your healthcare provider to discuss your individual plan for breast cancer prevention, screenings and, if necessary, additional testing.
Where can I take a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment?
There are many resources available for calculating your breast cancer risk. The Know Your Lemons Foundation offers a “Breast Health IQ” in its app and on its website. This 12-question quiz provides direct and clear information. The website also has resources for speaking with your doctor and what questions can be helpful to ask.
To download the Know Your Lemons app, you can find it here for iOS and here for Android. The Know Your Lemons Breast Health IQ can be found here.
The National Cancer Institute also offers a Breast Cancer Risk Assessment (known formally as The Gail Model), which takes around five minutes. You can find the assessment here. As I mentioned, these results are not diagnostic, but they can help you understand more about your breast health and level of breast cancer risk.
Before closing, there is one other statistic that widens the eyes of my students in the Know Your Lemons educational sessions, which is the following: the five-year survival rate of Stage 0-1 breast cancer is around 99%. This tells us that when found early, breast cancer can be very treatable.
Education, prevention, and early detection are the best tools against breast cancer, but they are only effective if actually implemented.
Get to know and love your lemons, y’all!
I hope this information has been helpful; as always, thanks for being here!
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Take care & continue creating,
