Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi has revealed that she has stage 1 cervical cancer and may have to have a hysterectomy.
The “Jersey Shore” alum announced her adenocarcinoma diagnosis on TikTok on Friday after receiving the results of a cone biopsy (a surgery in which a surgeon removes a cone-shaped abnormal tissue from the cervix), according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“Obviously it wasn’t the news I was expecting, but it wasn’t the worst news either because they caught it so quickly. Thank you so much,” she said. “2026 is not going to go the way I want it to, but it could get much worse.”
“Everything will be fine. I’m going to work on this and get it done. I’ve got some work to do.”
Ms Polizzi, 38, encouraged her followers to book an appointment for a pap smear as she has been “suffering from unusual pap smears for the past three or four years”.
“Now look at me. Instead of putting it off because you don’t want to go and it hurts and you’re scared, you go and there’s cancer there, but it’s only stage one and it can be cured.”
She further explained that in her case, “the cancer cells did not make it into the cervix,” so doctors were able to remove the tumor by removing a “clump of tissue” from the cone biopsy.
“Obviously, the infection can still spread within my body,” she noted. “I’m learning this because it’s all happening in my body in real time.”
Polizzi’s next step is to undergo a PET scan, which will “detect if the cancer has spread,” she explained.
“Then I’ll probably have to have a hysterectomy, because my oncologist said I could do either chemoradiotherapy or a hysterectomy. Obviously, I think the wise choice here is a hysterectomy,” she continued, adding that her ovaries could be preserved if she had surgery.
“They have to remove the cervix and the uterus, and sometimes the lymph nodes, because that’s where it can go,” she added.
The reality star also encouraged other women suffering from cervical cancer to share their experiences in the comments section. Because I don’t want anyone to fight alone.
“We are a community of women and there is literally no platform or place for women to talk about this issue. Many women are going through this in silence, without telling anyone, and are alone and scared.”
She ended the emotional video by thanking other women who spoke out about her diagnosis.
The Snooki & Joe alum opened up about her health scare for the first time last month, revealing that an abnormal Pap smear result and precancerous cells led to an “uncomfortable” colposcopy and biopsy.
“The results came in. My doctor called me and said, ‘You don’t look good.’ He found cancer cells in the upper part of my cervix,” she said. “It’s scary. It’s scary, but cervical cancer is no joke and we have to do something about it.”
Polizzi, who welcomed children Lorenzo, 13, Giovanna, 11, and Angelo, six, with husband Gionni LaValle, said she was “done having children” but was “just sad and scared thinking about having a hysterectomy”.
“I think having a hysterectomy and not being able to have children after that is what’s killing me.”
“But what do I need to do to keep me healthy and safe so I can be here for the kids I have?”
