Maria Menounos has revealed she’s recovering from stage 2 pancreatic cancer.
The TV personality, who is expecting a baby via surrogate this summer, told People she was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year and underwent surgery to remove a 3.9-cm tumor.
“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 cancer diagnosis, which has made headlines in recent years for claiming the life of Alex Trebek, came after Menounos, 44, learned she had Type 1 diabetes.
“I was feeling so good, and then I got slapped in the face with a new diagnosis,” she said.
The former E! News correspondent was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2017.
But in June 2022, severe leg cramps drove her to the hospital where she was told she had Type 1 diabetes, a condition which runs in her family. Within months, she was “crushing it,” but in November she went back to the hospital with “with excruciating abdominal pain coupled with diarrhea.”
Initial testing indicated everything was fine, but the pain continued.
It wasn’t until several weeks later when she was on a flight and began to experience pain “like someone was tearing my insides out” that she sought another opinion.
A full-body MRI revealed a 3.9 cm. mass on her pancreas and a biopsy confirmed it was cancer.
“I’m like ‘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.”
On February 16 she underwent surgery to remove not only the tumor, but a part of her pancreas, spleen, a large fibroid, and 17 lymph nodes.
“It was super painful,” she admitted.
But the alternative would have been a lot worse.
“I’m so grateful and so lucky. 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.”
Thankfully, Menounos does not need any further treatment besides an annual scan for the next five years.
READ MORE:
- Patrick Swayze’s widow, Lisa, reveals actor’s first subtle symptoms of pancreatic cancer
- Alex Trebek, fighting stage IV pancreatic cancer, makes a video urging people to know the signs
It’s so important to pay attention to anything that may feel “off” with our bodies and get it checked out sooner rather than later. It could end up saving our life.