Maria Menounos keeps an optimistic image in the public eye, but that doesn’t mean the television host doesn’t have her own battles to deal with.
She and her husband. Keven Undergaro, announced earlier this year that they’re expecting a baby girl via surrogate, a truly happy event as they’ve struggled with fertility for years, but it hasn’t all been sunshine.
Although they’re super excited to meet their baby girl, things have been too stressful, and Maria needs time to herself.
She revealed to People that she was diagnosed with Stage 2 pancreatic cancer and had surgery to remove a 3.9-centimeter tumor.
“This whole year has been trauma, stress, crisis. There was a minute when we were planning something, and then it became too much. I thought, ‘I just need to heal,'” she said of the last few months.
Maria has been down this road before, as she was treated for a benign brain tumor in 2017, but that doesn’t make it any less stressful.
The smiling television star is using her experience to inspire other people to take full control of their health, creating a positive from a tricky situation.
Maria Menounos encourages people to take control of their own health
One thing that Maria took away from her experiences is to always look for the answers when you’re experiencing a health problem, and she urges others to do the same.
Her symptoms began in the summer of last year and started with some serious leg cramps.
At the time, she sought treatment and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which runs in her family. She took charge of her health, monitored her food and glucose, and saw a lot of improvement for a few weeks until she ended up back in the hospital with abdominal pain.
“They said, ‘Everything’s fine.’ But I kept having pains,” she revealed, noting that some were so bad it was “like someone was tearing my insides out.”
She ended up completing a full-body MRI scan which revealed the cancerous mass on her pancreas and biopsied the mass to confirm it was Stage 2 pancreatic cancer.
Treatment wasn’t easy, as not only was the mass removed, but part of her pancreas was removed along with her spleen, a fibroid, and 17 lymph nodes.
Although it was a painful journey, and she is still recovering, Maria is happy that she was able to get a proper diagnosis and treatment and is ready to focus on the arrival of her baby girl.
Maria Menounos reveals new life appreciation following secret cancer battle
Fortunately, Maria doesn’t seem to need any radiation or chemotherapy treatment. She will have scans done annually to keep an eye out for any cancerous tumors, but otherwise, she is doing great in her recovery.
Although the health scare wasn’t needed, Maria added that she is “so grateful and so lucky” and that “God granted her a miracle.”
This turn of events has left her feeling even more blessed than before to have her baby girl in her life, and she is ready to show her baby just how much she appreciates her, an appreciation that has only grown since her most recent cancer treatment.