Actor Olivia Munn reveals breast cancer diagnosis; urges all to calculate Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score

Actor Olivia Munn, known for movies like X-Men: Apocalypse, Ocean's 8, The Predator, has opened up about being diagnosed with breast cancer. The actor has shared a heartfelt post narrating her ordeal with the disease on the social media platform, Instagram.

Olivia has urged everyone to calculate the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. "I would not have found my cancer for another year- at my next scheduled mammogram- except that my OBGYN Dr. Thais Aliabadi, decided to calculate my Breast Cancer Assessment Score. The fact that she saved my life," she writes on social media. Few months prior to this she had done a genetic test to check for 90 different cancer genes and had tested negative in all. "That same winter I also had a normal mammogram," she writes.

What is the Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score?

The Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score (BCAS) is a tool used to assess an individual's risk of developing breast cancer. It takes into account various factors, including personal and family medical history, lifestyle factors, and genetic predisposition. The BCAS aims to stratify individuals into different risk categories based on these factors, allowing for personalized screening and preventive measures.

The BCAS incorporates information such as age, reproductive history, hormone use, alcohol consumption, body mass index (BMI), and family history of breast cancer. Additionally, genetic factors such as mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes, which are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer, may also be considered in the assessment.


Once the BCAS is calculated, individuals can be categorized into low, moderate, or high-risk groups, guiding healthcare providers in determining appropriate screening intervals and preventive strategies. For individuals deemed to be at higher risk, more frequent breast cancer screening, genetic testing, and consideration of risk-reducing interventions such as chemoprevention or prophylactic mastectomy may be recommended.

In case of Olivia, Dr. Aliabadi looked at factors like age, familial breast cancer history and when she had her first child. "She discovered my lifetime risk was 37%. Because of that socre I was sent to get an MRI, which led to an ultrasound, which then led to a biopsy," she writes. In the biopsy it was revealed that she had a fast moving aggressive cancer, Luminal B, in both brests. A month later she underwent double mastectomy.

"Ask your doctor to calculate your Breast Cancer Risk Assessment Score. Dr Aliabadi says that if the number is greater than 20%, you need annual mammograms and breast MRIs starting at the age 30," she writes.