Jersey Shore star Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi was ‘planning her funeral’ after cervical cancer diagnosis

Jersey Shore star Nicole 'Snooki' Polizzi has candidly opened up about her recent cervical cancer in a brand-new podcast interview.

The 38-year-old reality TV star first shared the news back in February with a lengthy TikTok video, stating that the cancer is stage 1 and that she was grateful it had been caught early.

In the social media post, Polizzi explained how she was diagnosed following a cone biopsy, which is where a cone-shaped piece of tissue is removed from the cervix and examined.

She told her followers: "It came back stage 1 cervical cancer called adenocarcinoma. Obviously not the news I’ve been hoping for, but also not the worst news just because they caught it so early. Thank freaking God!"

Speaking on the latest episode (19 May) of the Let's Be Honest podcast, the mum-of-three revealed that she actually suffered a 'breakdown' after receiving her diagnosis.

"Like, ‘Oh, my God, what am I gonna do? Gotta get my will in place. What’s gonna happen?’ Planning my funeral. I was being so dramatic," she recalled. "Then, I did research."

Admitting that the ordeal was 'terrifying', she explained that it is 'so common' for women to be diagnosed with cervical cancer.

According to Cancer Research UK's 2017-2019 data, there are around 3,300 new cervical cancer cases in the UK every year, which equates to roughly nine every day.

It's most common in women aged between 30 and 35, but it can happen at any age, and anyone with a cervix can get cervical cancer.

"No one really talks about it," Polizzi, who is set to undergo a hysterectomy after the summer, continued. "I’m gonna be OK, because there are things I have to do. I’ll be fine, because stage 1 is the best-case scenario."

"It’s scary when you hear the word cancer. You’re like, 'Oh, my God, I’m dying. I have to do all these things, and my body’s gonna change'," she added.

Polizzi added that she 'didn't think' she'd tell anyone the news apart from her close family members.

"I needed someone to be relatable and talk about their experience. I went on TikTok, and there are just so many women saying, 'I just got diagnosed with stage 1, this is what I have to do.’ Other TikToks saying how they got a hysterectomy, and it wasn’t that bad," she continued.

"I literally looked for these women to make me feel better. So, why not talk about it? Because nobody talks about it, and it’s so common."

If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.