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Olivia Munn revealed how she and Shannen Doherty “bonded” over their experiences with breast cancer in a sweet tribute.
The 44-year-old actor took to her Instagram Stories on July 14 to honor her friendship with Doherty, who died on July 13 of breast cancer at age 53. In her tribute, Munn shared that throughout her own diagnosis with breast cancer – which she’s been vocal about – she contacted the Charmed star and they became fast friends.
“I am absolutely heartbroken about the passing of Shanne Doherty,” she wrote in her post, which included a photo of the late actor from the ‘90s. “When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer I remembered how she bravely let the world into her journey and reached out to her. We became instant friends - which I honestly couldn’t comprehend at times because watching her on 90210 was everything to me when I was 10.”
After acknowledging that their friendship strengthened over time, The Gateway star shared the meaningful message that Doherty previously sent to her.
“We bonded through a shared battle and a desire to help other women,” Munn continued. “Looking back on the last text she sent me just a couple months ago, she asked me how I was doing and if she could do anything for me… True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease.”
She then expressed that “cancer is really f***ing scary,” before praising the 90210 star for facing the disease with “such dignity, strength, and grace.” She concluded her message by applauding an important person in Doherty’s life, her mother Rosa Elizabeth Doherty.
“I’m sending all of my love to her mother who was her best friend, hero and champion every step of the way,” Munn wrote. “Fly so high, my friend.”
On July 14, Doherty’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, issued a statement announcing the actor had died.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty,” Sloane said in a statement. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.”
Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, before announcing in 2017 that she was in remission. However, the cancer returned two years later, and she announced her stage four breast cancer diagnosis in 2020.
In June, she shared a video on Instagram of the brain radiation treatment she was receiving, while revealing her cancer had spread to her brain. While she revealed five months later that the cancer had spread to her bones, she acknowledged that she planned to continue her treatment to attack the disease, saying that she was “not done with living.”
Meanwhile, Munn took to Instagram in March to reveal that she had breast cancer. She explained that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023, before she went on to have four different surgeries, including a double mastectomy, which is a surgical removal of both breasts.
She noted that before receiving her diagnosis, she and her sister were undergoing genetic testing for 90 different cancer genes in 2023, including BRCA, the most well-known breast cancer gene. While both Munn and her sister tested negative for the gene and had a clear mammogram, her doctor decided to calculate her Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score just in case. “The fact that she did, saved my life,” Munn added, noting that her risk was 37 percent.
Because of that percentage, she was sent for an MRI, ultrasound, and biopsy, which revealed she had Luminal B cancer in both breasts. “I went from feeling completely fine one day to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next,” she wrote. “I’m lucky. We caught it with enough time that I had options.”
Munn – who shares a three-year-old son, Malcolm, with husband John Mulaney – has continued to speak out about her breast cancer treatments. In April, she shared how she began using hormone suppression therapy in November to further lessen the risk of her cancer recurring. According to Munn, that treatment also put her into medically induced menopause.
“I’m constantly thinking it’s hot, my hair is thinning, and I’m tired a lot,” she said, while describing some of her symptoms of menopause during an interview with People.
However, Munn noted that she doesn’t necessarily have an issue with going through menopause now. “I’m basically on a treatment of suppressing all my hormones, so I will go into menopause. And I will shut down all the hormone production in my tissue and my ovaries,” she added. “And that’s again, more problems. But I figured, as a woman, I can’t escape menopause. So I’d rather just take it on now and tackle it head on.”
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