Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi says she is now cancer-free.
The 38-year-old “Jersey Shore” star said on Friday that doctors have cleared her following a successful hysterectomy in July, seven months after she received a Stage 1 cervical cancer diagnosis. “As of right now, I am cancer-free,” she said in the interview, adding that she feels like she’s “on the other side” of a grueling medical ordeal. “They got everything out. So I’m definitely happy that I did it.”
Polizzi admitted she had put off preventive care for years before the diagnosis forced her to confront her health. “I avoided getting [a] pap smear for a long time,” she told the magazine, a delay that led to what became a rapid succession of medical interventions. “And once I finally went to the doctors, I feel like it’s just been week after week of doing a procedure, then another procedure, and then a hysterectomy. So it’s been a journey and a long road, but I’m happy that I’m on the other side of it and everything is going good.”
Despite the positive news, the MTV personality emphasized that recovery remains ongoing and unpredictable. She described days when overexertion triggers exhaustion and pain, forcing her to scale back. “I’m trying to listen to my body and give my body grace and not go crazy,” she explained. “There’s days where I do too much and then I just feel exhausted and I start getting pains.”
Still, Polizzi noted measurable progress in her daily life. “But other than that, I’m finally starting to feel better. I feel like I’m almost getting back to myself,” she shared. That sentiment echoed what she had expressed to her social media audience months earlier when first revealing her diagnosis on TikTok in February.
At that time, she had struck a cautiously optimistic tone with followers about the early-stage finding. “Obviously not the news I was hoping for, but also not the worst news, just because they caught it so early. Thank freaking god,” she said in the TikTok video. The public disclosure came after years of private struggle; Polizzi later acknowledged she had been “struggling with abnormal pap smears for about three or four years” without properly addressing the issue.
By April, she had determined with her medical team that a hysterectomy was the necessary next step, a decision she found emotionally complicated despite having completed her family. “I’m not great with pain, so thinking about removing an organ is scary,” she said ahead of the surgery. “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.”
Polizzi and husband Jionni LaValle share three children: Lorenzo Dominic, 13, Giovanna Marie, 11, and Angelo James, 6. Throughout her treatment, she repeatedly used her platform to urge followers to schedule their own screenings, converting her experience into a public service message about preventive care.
The experience has also prompted broader lifestyle changes for the reality star, who launched The Snooki Shop and has built a multi-platform brand since her MTV debut. “Getting a cancer diagnosis is very terrifying and scary. So, I just want my body to be as healthy as it can be,” she said. “I feel like I’m eating better, working out, obviously staying on top of my appointments. I’m just not avoiding anything and just trying to be the best version of myself.”
Medical monitoring will continue indefinitely. Her doctors have warned that recurrence remains possible, requiring pap smears every three months to maintain surveillance. The stepped-up screening schedule underscores that cancer-free status, while welcome, does not mean the end of medical vigilance for Polizzi.
