Snooki Cancer: Nicole Polizzi’s Stage 1 Diagnosis and Why Routine Screening Is Getting Rebooted

Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi, 38, announced she has Stage 1 cervical cancer in a TikTok update after receiving cone biopsy results on Feb. 20 — a development that has immediate resonance for women in their 30s and early 40s. The snooki cancer update includes plans for a PET scan and a likely hysterectomy, and Polizzi used the moment to urge routine Pap smears after years of abnormal test results.

Snooki Cancer and the immediate impact on screening conversations

Here’s the part that matters: Polizzi’s disclosure reframes a personal medical decision as a public reminder about screening. She said she had struggled with abnormal Pap smears for three or four years and that delaying care out of fear contributed to the current situation. Her message centers on action — getting tested rather than putting it off — and that resonates for women facing similar screening dilemmas.

What Polizzi shared about tests and treatment options

Polizzi revealed she received the cone biopsy results after a doctor’s appointment and that the pathology identified Stage 1 cervical cancer, specifically adenocarcinoma. She said doctors removed the tumor during the cone biopsy and that tissue around the removed area tested clear, which she described as meaning the cancer did not extend up into the cervix. She also cautioned there remains a chance the cancer could spread elsewhere.

Her next step will be a PET scan to check for any spread. Polizzi said her oncologist presented chemotherapy or radiation as alternatives, but she is leaning toward a hysterectomy. She indicated she will keep her ovaries and summarized the plan bluntly: the cervix and uterus would be removed, with the final decision depending on PET scan results. Polizzi first reported that doctors had found cancerous cells on her cervix in a Jan. 20 TikTok after undergoing a colposcopy and biopsy.

Medical context: what cervical cancer is and how it develops

Cervical cancer is a growth of cells that starts in the cervix. Various strains of the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common infection passed through sexual contact, can cause most cervical cancers. When exposed to HPV, the body’s immune system usually prevents harm, but in a small percentage of people the virus can persist for years and contribute to a process that turns some cervical cells cancerous.

Prevention and early detection are central: the HPV vaccine and routine screening tests — the HPV test and the Pap smear — can find precancerous changes and cancers early. Symptoms of advanced cervical cancer include abnormal vaginal bleeding, pain and discharge.

Key takeaways

• Jan. 20: Polizzi posted that cancerous cells were found after a colposcopy and biopsy.
• Feb. 20: Cone biopsy results identified Stage 1 adenocarcinoma; doctors removed the tumor and margins were clear.
• Next diagnostic step: PET scan to determine whether the cancer has spread.
• Treatment path being considered: hysterectomy with ovaries preserved; alternatives presented were chemotherapy or radiation.
• Polizzi emphasized routine Pap smears after years of abnormal Pap results and described the diagnosis as caught early and curable at Stage 1.

Broader signals and what could confirm the next turn

Polizzi noted 2026 isn’t panning out how she expected but added it could be worse, and said she still needs further treatment to remove the cancer. The American Cancer Society has noted incidence of cervical cancer rising among women in their 30s and early 40s while decreasing for women in their 20s; that trend gives added context to why this personal update echoes beyond one public figure.

What’s easy to miss is Polizzi’s emphasis on the simple, repeatable act of screening: she framed her experience as the result of years of abnormal Pap smears and urged people not to delay testing. The real test will be the PET scan results and whether surgery alone will be sufficient.

If you’re wondering why this keeps coming up, understand that the combination of persistent HPV in a subset of people, gaps in screening uptake, and changing incidence by age group is driving renewed attention to prevention and early detection.