Alison Hall, Olivia Munn
Courtesy of Alison Hall/Instagram; Cindy Ord/Getty ImagesA reporter credited the actress Olivia Munn for saving her life.
Inside’ Editions Alison Hall shared an emotional post via Instagram on Wednesday, Jan. 8, announcing that she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is preparing to undergo a mastectomy.
“Let me tell you the story of how Olivia Munn and the show I work for Internal editionplayed a role in saving my life,” Hall, 33, wrote in the poignant caption of the post. “Last spring after @oliviamunn shared her story about her breast cancer journeythe producers at @insideedition assigned me to the story and sent me to a breast cancer doctor here in NYC to undergo tests on camera. Inspired by Olivia, I took the breast cancer risk assessment test.’
According to Hall, her risk was “found to be high,” so the “wonderful doctors” at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York “encouraged me to start a schedule of annual mammograms and MRIs.”
“I’ve been ready to do this for a long time, and I had no idea how quickly this story would change my life,” she continued. “In October I had my first breast MRI and a week later, just before I turned 33, I became one of the millions of women who heard the words ‘you have breast cancer’.”
Hall explained that doctors also told her her cancer was “stage zero,” meaning it “hasn’t spread.”
“I have an early form of malignancy called DCIS,” she added. According to John HopkinsDCIS – or ductal carcinoma in situ – is “a non-invasive form of breast cancer that develops in the milk ducts of the breast”.
“As you can imagine, I’ve been on a roller coaster ride of fear, anxiety, horror AND gratitude,” she continued in Wednesday’s post. “My husband reminds me that this is ‘the best bad news’ we could get. For many reasons, including my family history of breast cancer and my own history of breast abnormalities, I decided not only to deal directly with the current cancer, but to dramatically reduce my risk of future breast cancer. I have chosen to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction next week.
Meng, 44, revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2024.
“Surprisingly, I only cried twice,” Mun wrote in a lengthy Instagram post with details of her diagnosis and follow-up treatment, which also includes a double mastectomy. “I guess I didn’t feel like there was time to cry. My focus narrowed and I let out whatever emotions I thought would interfere with my ability to remain sane,” she wrote at the time.
In her Instagram post Wednesday, Hall said she considers “this experience a gift,” adding that her diagnosis allows her to “do this for my future self, for my future children.”
“I have some of the best family, friends, dog, therapist, doctors and coworkers in the world who have come through for me and provided me with more love than I can imagine,” she added. “I believe in the power of storytelling. Olivia Munn, sharing her story, saved lives. It certainly played a part in saving mine. I share my story with the same hope.”
