Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi, known for her role on "Jersey Shore," revealed her cervical cancer diagnosis in a candid TikTok video on Friday.
The 38-year-old reality television personality disclosed that a recent post-operative appointment following a cone biopsy indicated she has stage 1 adenocarcinoma, a type of cervical cancer. “Obviously not the news that I was hoping for, but also not the worst news just because they caught it so early. Thank freaking God!” she expressed during the nearly eight-minute clip.
Polizzi had been grappling with abnormal pap smears for several years prior to this diagnosis. “That’s why I’m literally telling you guys to get your pap smears done. I’m 38 years old ... and now look at me,” she emphasized. “Instead of just putting it off because I didn’t want to go and it hurt and I was scared, no, I just went and did it. And it was there, cancer is in there. But it’s only stage 1 and it’s curable.”
Earlier this year, she had mentioned needing a colposcopy and biopsy in another TikTok post. Now, she has a PET scan lined up to check for any potential spread of the cancer.
“A lot of women go through it silently without anyone to talk to and they’re scared by themselves. And that was me until I decided to upload the video about what was happening with me,” Polizzi shared, highlighting the importance of open conversations about health.
Polizzi rose to fame when "Jersey Shore" debuted on MTV in 2009, captivating audiences until its conclusion in 2012. She later starred in the spin-off series "Snooki & JWoww," which aired from 2012 to 2015.
According to the American Cancer Society, over 13,000 cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed annually in the United States. The organization notes that since the mid-1970s, cervical cancer death rates have decreased by more than half due to advancements in screening and prevention methods. The primary cause of cervical cancer is the human papillomavirus (HPV), and a 2021 study from the U.K. indicated that HPV vaccination significantly reduces the risk of developing this type of cancer.
