Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi Confirms She Will Undergo 'Scary' Hysterectomy After Cervical Cancer Diagnosis at 38
Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi Confirms She Will Undergo 'Scary' Hysterectomy After Cervical Cancer Diagnosis at 38
Vanessa EtienneThu, April 23, 2026 at 12:17 PM UTC
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Nicole ‘Snooki’ PolizziCredit: Matt DeSimone Media/SYNC Digital Marketing
It was an appointment she'd been dreading for months. Against her better judgment, Nicole ‘Snooki' Polizzi had put off going to her regular Pap smear screenings for well over a year — and now, as she was leaving her doctor's office, her worst fears had come to pass: She'd been diagnosed with stage 1 cervical cancer.
"I had a breakdown," the Jersey Shore star tells PEOPLE. "I got to my car and I called my mom hysterically crying, thinking the worst.”
Since that fateful day in February, further testing has confirmed that Polizzi's cancer hasn't spread and, following a hysterectomy in the coming months, she'll need no further treatment.
"I was scared,” admits Polizzi, 38, who lives with her husband, Jionni LaValle, and their three kids — sons Lorenzo, 13, and Angelo, 6, and daughter Giovanna, 11 — in Florham Park, N.J. “But you know what? It's not the worst case and I can still deal with it,” she says. “I'm gonna be fine.”
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Nicole ‘Snooki’ PolizziCredit: Matt DeSimone Media/SYNC Digital Marketing
For the past four years, the reality star and business owner has received abnormal Pap smear results, showing precancerous cells. They were “nothing crazy,” she insists, but they led her doctor to recommend screenings every six months. (The standard recommendation is every three years.)
But Polizzi, who experienced notable discomfort during her exams, started putting them off. “I ended up not going for like a year and a half because it's uncomfortable, it's not fun.”
Still, she realized she was taking a huge risk. “I knew something bad could happen,” she admits, “but instead of dealing with it, I just pretended it wasn't happening.”
Nicole Polizzi with her familyCredit: snooki/instagram
It was only after constant calls from her doctor throughout 2025 that Polizzi finally went back.
“My doctor was leaving me a voicemail screaming at me like, ‘You need to get in here. This is serious. You don't want it to escalate.' That's when I finally went in,” she says.
By that point, her results were concerning, detecting “a ton” of precancerous cells. Further testing — including a colposcopy and cone biopsy ("It was very unpleasant”) — revealed "severe cancer cells," which were likely to spread if left untreated.
While the ongoing diagnostic tests, appointments and PET scans have been challenging, for Polizzi, the mental and emotional toll has been the toughest part—including telling her kids.
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"My two oldest were like, ‘Are you dying?' Because they know what cancer is, it scared them a little bit,” she says. “But I was reassuring them like, ‘No, mommy's gonna be fine.'”
And since her diagnosis she says LaValle, whom she married in 2014, and friends and family have all been “rallying around me, because they knew I was freaking out… The best part about everything is realizing how many people care,” she says. “I have a ton of people that are here for me and they love me.”
Nicole Polizzi in her boutique, The Snooki ShopCredit: Matt DeSimone Media/SYNC Digital Marketing
Polizzi also found support in connecting with her fans and social media followers.
“I don't know anyone personally that has gone through this. So being able to read people's comments definitely helped me to just know that I'm not alone and everything's gonna be fine.”
Despite that reassurance, she's nervous about her upcoming surgery.
“I'm not great with pain, so thinking about removing an organ is scary,” she admits. “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.”
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Jersey Shore cast in 2010Credit: Donna Svennevik/Disney/Getty
These days, in between running her boutique, The Snooki Shop, and gearing up for the final season of Jersey Shore: Family Vacation (airing May 7), Polizzi's been prioritizing her health—eating better, limiting alcohol, and hitting the gym regularly — "just staying on top of everything,” she says.
“I talk to my doctor all the time now. I wanna be healthier,” she adds. “I'm just trying to be the best version of myself because I'm getting older and I wanna age gracefully.”
She also hopes other women can learn from her mistakes and understand the importance of early detection.
“I feel like nobody talks about cervical cancer,” she says. "The main point of me talking about this is for girls to get on their s--t and not do what I did… this is very preventable.”
For more on Nicole ‘Snooki' Polizzi, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
