Snooki reveals Stage 1 cervical cancer diagnosis
Nicole "snooki" Polizzi, 38, said on Feb. 20 that a cone biopsy result showed Stage 1 cervical cancer called adenocarcinoma, a diagnosis she shared in a TikTok after a doctor’s appointment.
Snooki announces Stage 1 adenocarcinoma
In the TikTok posted after the Feb. 20 appointment, Polizzi said, "It came back Stage 1 cervical cancer called adenocarcinoma, " and added, "Thank freaking God!" The 38-year-old "Jersey Shore" star said she learned the result after doctors processed tissue from a cone biopsy.
What Polizzi said about tests and Pap smears
Polizzi said she first shared news that doctors found cancerous cells on her cervix in a Jan. 20 TikTok following a colposcopy and biopsy that returned abnormal results. She told viewers she had been "struggling with abnormal Pap smears for three or four years now, " urged women to get routine Pap smears, and said, "Instead of putting it off because I didn't want to go, because I was hurt and scared, I just went and did it. " Polizzi, known as snooki, is a mom of three.
Medical steps: cone biopsy, PET scan and surgery
Polizzi described the cone biopsy as the procedure "when abnormal tissue is removed from the cervix for testing, " and said doctors "took out what was, like, the tumor, the cancer that was in there, but then around it was clear. " She quoted her care team saying there were "no cancer cells on that, which means it didn't go up into the cervix, which is a good thing, " while also noting there remains a chance the cancer could spread in her body. Her oncologist presented chemotherapy or radiation as other options, and Polizzi said her next steps would be a PET scan and a hysterectomy.
Screening, HPV and broader trends
The American Cancer Society has noted that incidence of cervical cancer has been increasing in women in their 30s and early 40s while decreasing for women in their 20s. The Mayo Clinic describes cervical cancer as a growth of cells that starts in the cervix and says various strains of human papillomavirus, or HPV, can cause most cervical cancers. The Mayo Clinic adds that the body’s immune system typically prevents the virus from doing harm but that the virus may survive for years in a small percentage of people and contribute to some cervical cells becoming cancerous. Cervical cancer is highly preventable in part because of the HPV vaccine, and routine screening such as the HPV test and the Pap smear can find the disease early. Symptoms of advanced cervical cancer include abnormal vaginal bleeding, pain and discharge.
What comes next
Polizzi said she is still learning her next steps and voiced a preference for surgery: "Obviously, I think the smart choice here is the hysterectomy. I'll still keep my ovaries, which is a good sign, " she said, adding, "But yeah, gotta get the cervix and uterus out... It all depends on the PET scan. " She also said, "2026 is not panning out how I'd like it to, but also, it could be worse, " and that she feels cervical cancer is "very common in women. " The next confirmed medical milestone she presented is the PET scan, which will inform whether she moves forward with the planned hysterectomy.
