Maria Menounos Reveals She Survived Pancreatic Cancer With a Baby on the Way
Maria Menounos was diagnosed with Stage 2 pancreatic cancer earlier this year, she revealed this week. Menounos, 44, underwent successful surgery to remove a tumor and hopes others are inspired to ask their doctor about health problems early. The former E! News host and her husband, Kevin Undergaro, are now expecting their first baby together, via surrogate.
The couple planned to have a baby shower, but they canceled the event because Menounos wanted to focus on healing. She learned her diagnosis soon after she and Undergaro got the news they had been waiting to hear for a decade, that they will soon become parents, she told PEOPLE. Menounos was previously treated for a benign brain tumor in 2017 and was shocked to know she would have to face another health crisis.
"I was feeling so good, and then I got slapped in the face with a new diagnosis," Menounos said. She was diagnosed after she began experiencing leg cramps last June that would make her "scream out loud." First, she learned she had type 1 diabetes, which runs in her family. She began taking insulin, followed a strict diet, and monitored her glucose level.
Menounos' health was improving, but she was back in the hospital in November with "excruciating" abdominal pain and diarrhea. The first CT scan and tests showed nothing, but she continued feeling pain. They became unbearable during a flight a few weeks later, so she did a whole-body MRI with Prenuvo. The test revealed a 3.9 cm. mass on her pancreas. She was later diagnosed with a Stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. "I'm like 'How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?'" she told PEOPLE. "All I could think was that I have a baby coming."
The tumor was caught early and Menounos underwent surgery on Feb. 16. She had the tumor removed, as well as parts of her pancreas, spleen, a large fibroid, and 17 lymph nodes. Undergardo slept in the hospital every night of her recovery. Dr. Ryan Aronin and Dr. Timothy Donahue of UCLA told PEOPLE that Menounos will not require chemotherapy or further treatment, but she should have annual scans for the next five years.
Menounos hopes that sharing her story will inspire others to see their doctors the moment they feel health problems. "I need people to know there are places they can go to catch things early," she told the magazine. "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 this early enough."
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