Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi broke down in tears after undergoing a hysterectomy as part of her ongoing cervical cancer battle, sharing the emotional experience with fans on Instagram.
The Jersey Shore star, 38, posted a video on Saturday showing footage from before and after the surgery. At multiple points during the clip, her voice cracked and her eyes welled with tears.
“Sorry it’s just been a lot,” she said. “Dealing with all that pain, it’s not great but I’m doing my best and I’m trying to stay optimistic.”
In the video, Snooki documented her early morning arrival at the hospital with her parents, and shared footage of herself changing into a hospital gown before heading into the operating room.
Lying in a hospital bed after the procedure, she said she was feeling “not great” and admitted she is “not good with pain.” She described the “cramping and hurting” she felt and said “the first couple days are hell.”
Snooki said the surgeon successfully removed her uterus, cervix, fallopian tubes, and some parts of her vagina, but kept her ovaries so she would not go into premenopause.
She recalled feeling “nervous and anxious” when she was checked in and said she had started “hysterically bawling” before the procedure. She praised the nurses and doctors for comforting her. Afterward, she said she felt “very proud of myself.”
Support from costars and celebrities
Her former Jersey Shore costars and other celebrities showed their support in the comments. Sammi “Sweetheart” Giancola, 39, left a red heart emoji, while DJ Pauly D, 46, posted five heart emojis. Singer Meghan Trainor wrote “you are a supermom.”
Diagnosis and treatment decision
Snooki revealed earlier this year that she was diagnosed with stage I cervical cancer in February after receiving a biopsy. Her oncologist presented her with three options: chemotherapy, radiation, or a hysterectomy.
She chose the hysterectomy, explaining in a follow-up video that her surgeon performed an open-abdominal procedure rather than a laparoscopic one because the less invasive approach carried a nine percent chance of not removing all the cancer.
Snooki, who has three children with husband Jionni LaValle, Lorenzo, 13, Giovanna, 11, and Angelo, seven, said her husband stayed home with the kids while her parents accompanied her to the hospital for the early morning surgery.
