The ‘Jersey Shore’ star revealed in an emotional video that her uterus, cervix and “some parts” of her vagina were removed during the procedure
Credit: Snooki/Instagram (2)
NEED TO KNOW
- Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi underwent a hysterectomy to treat stage 1 cervical cancer six months after sharing her diagnosis
- The Jersey Shore star documented her emotional journey, including her fears and recovery process, in a video shared on Aug. 1
- Polizzi said she shared the clip to support others in a similar position
Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi underwent a hysterectomy six months after sharing her cervical cancer diagnosis with the world. She is now speaking out about the experience through a “vulnerable” social media post.
The Jersey Shore star, 38, said she had the surgery to remove her uterus, cervix and “some parts of my vagina,” and she shared an emotional video on Instagram on Saturday, Aug. 1, about the health journey.
Polizzi began by recalling she got “nice warm hugs” from her husband, Jionni LaValle, and their three kids — sons Lorenzo Dominic and Angelo James, plus daughter Giovanna Marie — before heading to the hospital early in the morning with her mother and father.
She later showed herself before surgery, telling her followers, “Got the gown, got the cap. I feel like an alien serving this look.”
Polizzi then documented herself making her way to the operating room. “And here we are strollin’ to surgery. I’m literally terrified at this point,” she narrates over a clip, before it cuts to her “recovering” post-op.
Next, the reality star spoke to the camera directly, sharing some of her “honest” thoughts after undergoing the operation to help treat her cervical cancer.
“I told you guys in general I’m not good with pain, and I’ve really been trying to be tough, but it’s not great,” Polizzi said. “And the reason is because we did that C-section cut, and he obviously ended up taking out the uterus, my cervix and then some parts of my vagina just to make sure we get everything. So that was crazy. The fallopian tubes, all of it. We kept my ovaries so I don’t go into pre-menopause, which is nice.”
Polizzi then got emotional. She cut the clip before returning to cry, as she admitted, “Sorry, it’s just been a lot.”
The star went on to say that she is “doing my best and I’m trying to stay optimistic.” She also said her “first time” walking after surgery hurt “so bad,” but the second time was less painful.
“So the first couple of days is hell, and then it’s gonna get better,” Polizzi further explained. “So I’m trying to stay in good spirits, and the nurses and doctors and everybody was so great.”
Credit: JP Yim/Getty
Polizzi also recounted the moments leading up to her hysterectomy, which she said caused her to cry “hysterically.”
“I was starting to get nervous and anxious, getting checked in and stuff, and then they wheel me in where they’re doing the procedure,” she recalled to her followers. “And I’m like, ‘Stay positive, it’s gonna be fine, don’t freak yourself out.’ My heart’s starting to race, I’m getting anxiety, and I’m getting the shakes. And then right when I go in, it’s just like, ‘Oh my god, like it hit me, like holy s—. I’m going under surgery. I’m losing my uterus and my cervix, fallopian tubes, half my vagina, like holy s—.’ ”
“And I just start hysterically bawling like I’m so scared,” she continued. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen. I don’t wanna feel pain. It’s very scary. But I got on the table and the nurses are great. They’re saying I’m gonna do fine. The doctors are great, so I lay down, and I’m like, ‘F—, it’s happening,’ and then they give me something in my IV to calm me down. And I’m like, what the f— couldn’t you give me this 20 minutes ago so I could calm down.”
Polizzi revealed that while she was on the operating table, she received treatment for diastasis recti, a common condition that the Cleveland Clinic states “is the separation of your rectus abdominis muscles.”
“Obviously I’ve had three kids, so when you have kids, sometimes your abs, they disconnect,” she said in her video, adding that during surgery the doctor ended up “putting them back together, which is nice, because they were totally separated from my three kids, so just dealing with all that pain. It’s not great.”
The reality star said she got “competitive” upon hearing that “people usually get to number 3” before going unconscious after anesthesia, and counted to 10. She also shared a video as proof at the end of the post.
Credit: Manny Carabel/Getty
After explaining why she chose to document her hysterectomy with a social media post, Polizzi said: “I’m being very vulnerable here, but I feel like in this journey I’ve been very vulnerable in general, so just wanna keep it going because it’s a scary thing and a lot of us women deal with it, and no one really talks about it. So I’m here to give that platform for all of us ladies.”
“And I read a lot of your comments that some of you are going to get surgery next week, you’re doing the same thing, so I’m here to show you what’s up and it’s scary, and it’s okay to be scared,” she continued. “But now it’s over. It’s over. I just have to deal with the pain. It’s just like any surgery. You have pain, you gotta manage it, manage it, get the pain meds, and in a couple of days, you’ll feel brand spanking new, no more periods. I don’t have to take birth control anymore. Hopefully I’ll be cancer free, and that’s it.”
She concluded the video, “I love you. Thanks for being here. And get your Pap smears, okay?”
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Polizzi first revealed that she had been diagnosed with stage 1 cervical cancer in a TikTok on Feb. 20. She received the diagnosis after abnormal Pap smear results and multiple biopsies found “severe cancerous cells” on her cervix.
Following the diagnosis, she told PEOPLE that she will need no further treatment after her hysterectomy. The star said she was grateful for that, but it didn’t make the idea of surgery any less “scary.”
“I’m not great with pain, so thinking about removing an organ is scary,” she told PEOPLE in April. “That’s a part of being a woman, and even though I’m done having kids, the thought of not being able to really upset me. It messes with you a little bit.”
“I’m gonna be fine,” Polizzi continued at the time, citing the support she has received from both her family and Jersey Shore castmates. “I was scared … But you know what? It’s not the worst case, and I can still deal with it.”
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