Maria Menounos has disclosed that she overcame pancreatic cancer, after receiving an early diagnosis of the disease in January. She is currently promoting the idea of others taking charge of their health.
The 45-year-old television star recently had to deal with an unsettling Stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer diagnosis earlier this year, which was followed by the surrogate delivery of Athena in June.
In an interview with People that was released on Wednesday, August 9, the 44-year-old former E! News correspondent talked openly about her experience with and defeating cancer. Her battle began when she and her husband, Keven Undergaro, were getting ready for the surrogate delivery of their first child. According to her, early detection saved her.
Maria Menounos’s health problems
Menounos has coped with a number of health issues, including a brain tumor that was discovered half a decade ago and a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. She told People that she overcame everything, had the brain tumor removed, and improved her blood sugar levels by using insulin and adhering to a strict diet. By last October, she thought she was doing extremely well.
But a month later, in November, she was admitted to the hospital once more for diarrhea and abdominal pain. Doctors performed tests including a CT scan but found nothing.
In the interview with People, she said:
“They said, ‘Everything’s fine.’ But I kept having pains.”
She turned to a full-body MRI scan in search of answers, as her discomfort persisted. She claimed that a 3.9-centimeter growth was discovered on her pancreas during a scan and that a biopsy revealed the mass to be a Stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, which was later shown to be malignant.
How did Maria Menounos survive pancreatic cancer?
Given the early stage at which she discovered pancreatic cancer, Maria Menounos was given a favorable prognosis. On February 16, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor along with a huge fibroid, 17 lymph nodes, part of her pancreas, and her spleen.
In a previous interview with People, she talked about the medical procedure:
“It was super painful. I couldn’t move or lift myself up.”
Now Maria Menounos just needs a once-yearly scan for the next five years, and no more therapy is required.
Maria shared a gratitude post on her Instagram on August 9. The caption of the post read:
“First, dealing with the diabetes diagnosis last summer, second (my other miracle) preparing for my soon to be newborn baby and third, pancreas cancer. I still haven’t come to grips with it all, including the fact that so very few even survive pancreatic cancer.”
She continued by saying she intended to use her position to spread more knowledge in an effort to help other people.