Maria Menounos has revealed her secret battle with stage 2 pancreatic cancer while waiting for the arrival of her baby girl with husband, Keven Undergaro.
In a new interview with People Magazine, the Greek-American journalist revealed that her diagnosis came in January 2023 after months of severe abdominal pain and leg cramps.
“This whole year has been trauma, stress, crisis,” she said. “There was a minute when we were planning something, and then it became too much. I thought, “I just need to heal.’”
The former E! Correspondent and ‘Heal Squad’ host said she has undergone a successful surgery following her diagnosis in January to remove a 3.9 cm tumor and is currently on a mission to aware people to talk about their health issues and take them seriously.
“I need people to know there are places they can go to catch things early,” she told the publication. “You can’t let fear get in the way. I had that moment where I thought I was a goner—but I’m okay because I caught this early enough.”
This isn’t the first time the 44-year-old journalist has fought a health battle – in 2017, Maria was treated for a benign brain tumor and had a golf-ball sized tumor removed in a surgical procedure. The brain tumor diagnosis came at the time when she was caring for her late mother who was battling a stage 4 brain cancer. Her mom passed away in 2021.
Then last year, Maria was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes which runs in her family.
“I was feeling so good, and then I got slapped in the face with a new diagnosis,” she told People. “I’d scream out loud, I was inconsolable.”
Speaking of her struggle with diabetes, the TV presenter said she has been using insulin, doing a strict diet, and regularly monitoring her blood sugar levels.
“I was crushing it, I felt so good. What else could go wrong?” But a month later I was back in the hospital, this time “with excruciating abdominal pain coupled with diarrhea,” she said about her pancreatic cancer diagnosis.
“A CT scan and extensive testing showed nothing. “They said, ‘Everything’s fine.’ But I kept having pains,” she added. “On a flight several weeks later, the pain was so bad it felt “like someone was tearing my insides out.”
After a full-body MRI with a company called Prenuvo, Menounos was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
“The test revealed a 3.9 cm. mass on her pancreas, with a subsequent biopsy confirming that it was a Stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, a form of cancer,” per PEOPLE.
After receiving her test results, the TV correspondent for Today and Access Hollywood started freaking out as she was shocked and confused about how she could have brain and pancreatic cancer.
“How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?” she said. “All I could think was that I have a baby coming.”
However, Maria was lucky enough to get the diagnosis report early, and doctors said the cancer was treatable. On February 18, she had her surgery done to remove her spleen, a large fibroid, and 17 lymph nodes.
“It was super painful,” she recalled. “I couldn’t move or lift myself up. “Thankfully, Keven slept in the hospital every night,” she said of her husband. “And my dad was the best caretaker.”
A the end of her interview, Maria said she is still grateful to God for giving her a miracle, and she can’t wait to hold her baby (due this summer) in her arms.
“God granted me a miracle. I’m going to appreciate having her in my life so much more than I would have before this journey.”
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Source: PEOPLE
