For Maria Menounos, this past year can be summed up in three words: “trauma, stress, crisis.”
in one interview with people, published Wednesday, the journalist and CEO of AfterBuzzTV opens up about his secret battle with stage 2 pancreatic cancer that he kept hidden from the public. Menounos has been recovering since his diagnosis in January, which has led to his 3.9-cm. The tumor was removed from his body. Meanwhile, she and husband Keven Undergaro await the birth of their daughter, who will arrive via surrogate.
The surgery to remove the tumor was completed on 16 February. The journalist, television presenter and host of the “Health Squad” podcast tells People it is now her mission to encourage others to look into their own health problems.
“I need people to know that there are places they can go to grab things early,” Menounos said. “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 it early enough.
This is not the first time Menounos has suffered a major medical event. in 2017, she was treated for a benign brain tumor. The journalist also revealed that she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes last year during a hospital visit. He initially traveled to find the cause of his severe leg cramps. By October, Menounos was taking insulin and “crushing it.” But a month later, she was back in hospital with “excruciating” abdominal pain. It is the visit and the CT scan after which she was diagnosed with cancer.
Menounos admitted that the news was especially difficult in the wake of planning a baby. The journalist said she felt “slapped in the face with a new diagnosis … I’ll scream out loud, I was inconsolable.”
Now it seems as if Menounos is on the other side of this test. Both her doctor and surgeon say she is in good condition and will not need chemotherapy or additional treatments. He’ll only need annual scans for the next five years. “I’m so grateful and so lucky,” Menounos said as he waited for his daughter’s arrival. “God gave me a miracle. I am going to appreciate having him in my life so much more than I did before this trip.
