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Olivia Munn is opening up about her recovery after a breast cancer diagnosis resulted in a double mastectomy. In a new interview with PEOPLE published on Thursday, April 18, the actress recalled the emotions she felt in her first days after surgery.
“When I woke up, it was really painful and I was really out of it and I had actually lost a lot of blood and my surgery went from what was supposed to be an 8-hour surgery to a 10-hour surgery because of that blood loss,” Olivia, 43, told the publication. “So the first part is tough because it’s just a lot of pain. You’ve gone through a massive surgery and I didn’t really at that time think about what I had lost because you’re all bandaged up.”
Three days after her mastectomy, Olivia was able to go home and reunite with her son Malcolm, 2, who she shares with partner John Mulaney.
While The Newsroom actress was excited to see her baby (then 1), Olivia quickly realized she couldn’t do everything she was used to.
“Malcolm runs up and he said, ‘Mama, pick [me] up?’ And I said, ‘Oh I can’t pick you up.’ And I squatted down to give him a hug, and then he just sat on my leg and goes, ‘But Mama, pick [me] up!’” Olivia recalled. “That was probably one of the hardest things because all you want to do is pick up your baby.”
Another difficult moment came when Malcolm realized his mom was spending a lot of time resting in bed.
“One time I asked Malcolm, ‘Where does Daddy work?’ And he ran to his office and pointed to his desk,” Olivia said. “And I said, ‘Where does Mommy work?’ And he ran to my bed, and that crushed me.”
As she experiences medically induced menopause due to breast cancer treatment, Olivia says she is finding more energy. She’s also creating more happy memories with her growing son. After all, the best medicine may just be some quality family time.
“When I’m with Malcolm, it’s really the only time your brain doesn’t think about that you’re sick,” Olivia explained. “I’m just so happy with him. I’m just so happy in life. I mean, he’s just the most fun little person. He’s so communicative and fun and laughs so much. And it really puts a lot of stuff into perspective.”
She continued, “If my body changes, I’m still his mom. If I have hot flashes, I’m still his mom. If I lose my hair, I’m still his mom. That’s what really matters to me, I get to be here for him.”