Olivia Munn wants more women to know their breast cancer risk.
In a recent interview with People, the 46-year-old actress shared how her breast cancer diagnosis led her to work with Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly on the proposed Know Your Risk Act. The goal is to make breast cancer risk assessments a routine part of medical care. Her own assessment led to the MRI that found her cancer.
“This takes the onus off of women having to know everything about the medical care that they need,” she told the outlet. “For the longest time it’s been, ‘What’s your blood pressure? What’s your cholesterol? What’s your height and weight?’ We want them to also ask, ‘What’s your lifetime risk assessment score?’”
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The Question That Changed Her Care
Munn had already had a normal mammogram and reassuring genetic test results when her doctor decided to check her lifetime breast cancer risk using the Tyrer-Cuzick calculator. Her score was 37.3 percent, which prompted further testing and ultimately led to her diagnosis of stage 1 invasive cancer in both breasts.
A risk assessment estimates the likelihood of developing cancer and can help doctors decide whether to recommend additional screening. The American Cancer Society recommends yearly breast MRIs alongside mammograms for certain high-risk women, including those with an estimated lifetime risk of about 20 to 25 percent or greater using tools based mainly on family history.
Munn’s doctor, Dr. Thaïs Aliabadi, “looked at factors like my age, familial breast cancer history, and the fact that I had my first child after the age of 30,” Munn wrote in a March 2024 Instagram post. “She discovered my lifetime risk was at 37%. Because of that score, I was sent to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy. The biopsy showed I had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. Luminal B is an aggressive, fast-moving cancer.”
The same calculator also helped Munn’s mother get further care. According to People, she scored 26.2 percent and was successfully treated for breast cancer last year. Munn said the response to her sharing her diagnosis inspired her advocacy: “The day that I first spoke out about it and saw the response, I realized at that point, ‘Oh, this is my mission. This is what I can do in the world.’”
Making the Conversation Part of Routine Care
Kelly, a longtime friend of Munn’s, approached her about working on legislation after seeing her advocacy. Their proposed Know Your Risk Act would establish a task force to recommend ways to improve access to risk assessment tools. It would also direct the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institutes of Health to study the tools’ accuracy. Kelly told People he plans to introduce the bill in November.
“The lifetime risk assessment test is free, it’s online, and it’s been there for a really long time,” Munn said. “But simply having a resource available online doesn’t mean women know about it.” She wants doctors to bring up the assessment during regular appointments, so patients don’t have to find it themselves.
“My doctor took the test for me right there in her office by just asking the simple questions,” she said. “It’s a really light lift that we’re asking of people, but it’s something that is so impactful that could save so many people’s lives.”
