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Olivia Munn is sharing the best advice she received from the late Shannen Doherty as they both battled cancer.
Speaking at the Los Angeles Magazine’s The L.A. Woman Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on Friday, March 13, Munn, 45, said Doherty told her to be “aggressive” after she received her diagnosis.
“She said to me having gone through this … she said just be so aggressive,” Munn explained, per Page Six.
The actress added that she is fortunate to have the “opportunity to fight” when that chance isn’t afforded to many women struggling with similar health issues.
Doherty died on July 13, 2024 after a lengthy battle with cancer. She was 53. The Charmed alum was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, ultimately going into remission. By 2020, the illness had recurred and later spread to her bones.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” Doherty’s publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement to Us Weekly at the time. “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.”
Meanwhile, Munn has been candid about her own cancer journey after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2023. She had a double mastectomy a month later as the first of several surgeries, including a reconstruction surgery.
Munn publicly revealed her diagnosis via a lengthy Instagram post shared in March 2024.
“Surprisingly, I’ve only cried twice. I guess I haven’t felt like there was time to cry. My focus narrowed and I tabled any emotions that I felt would interfere with my ability to stay clearheaded,” she wrote at the time.
Olivia Munn. (Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images)
Explaining that she chose to keep her health battle under wraps in order “to get through some of the hardest parts before sharing,” she went on to explain that she, “went from feeling completely fine one day, to waking up in a hospital bed after a 10-hour surgery the next.”
Following Doherty’s death in July 2024, Munn revealed she was “absolutely heartbroken” over the loss.
“When I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, I remembered how she bravely let the world into her journey and [I] reached out to her,” Munn wrote via her Instagram Story at the time. “We became instant friends — which I honestly couldn’t comprehend at times because watching her on [Beverly Hills,] 90210 was everything to me when I was 10.”
For Shannen Doherty, it was important to be “as honest as possible” about her fight against cancer. The actress first battled breast cancer between March 2015 and April 2017, and she revealed in February 2020 that the illness had returned. “It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that — […]
Munn praised Doherty for her support and her efforts to help other women fighting cancer.
“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 how I was doing and if she could do anything for me.”
Munn added, “True to form, Shannen was offering her support even though she was in the final stage of fighting this horrific disease. Cancer is really f***ing scary and Shannen faced it with such dignity, strength and grace.”
