Maria Menounos is opening up about a secret experience she recently had with stage two pancreatic cancer. On May 3, People reported that the former E! News correspondent told the publication she was diagnosed back in January, a month before she revealed that she’s expecting her first child with husband Keven Undergaro via surrogate. According to the outlet, Menounos – who was previously treated for a benign brain tumor in 2017 – underwent surgery to remove a 3.9 cm. tumor on her pancreas.
“I’m like ‘How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?'” she said, with her exact diagnosis being stage two pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (a form of cancer). “All I could think was that I have a baby coming.” Menounos also said that her surgery and recovery were “super painful,” adding, “I couldn’t move or lift myself up.”
Additionally, Menounos shared that, prior to her cancer diagnosis, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year, as she started experiencing severe leg cramps that June. “I was feeling so good, and then I got slapped in the face with a new diagnosis. I’d scream out loud, I was inconsolable,” she shared.
Following her recovery, Menounos expressed that she’s determined to encourage others to seek help for their health issues. “I need people to know there are places they can go to catch things early,” she said. “You can’t let fear get in the way. I had that moment where I thought I was a goner – but I’m OK because I caught this early enough.”
Now that Menounos’s doctors – Dr. Ryan Aronin and surgeon Dr. Timothy Donahue – have let her know she’s looking to be in good shape, the media personality looks forward to welcoming her little one on the way, a baby girl, this summer. “I’m so grateful and so lucky. God granted me a miracle,” she raved. “I’m going to appreciate having her in my life so much more than I would have before this journey.”
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