Current:Home > ContactMaria Menounos Shares Battle With Stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer While Expecting Baby -Momentum Wealth Path
Maria Menounos Shares Battle With Stage 2 Pancreatic Cancer While Expecting Baby
View
Date:2025-04-15 04:09:21
This was supposed to be Maria Menounos' best year yet.
After struggling to conceive for a decade, she and husband Keven Undergaro announced in early February they are expecting a baby girl via surrogate.
That same month, however, Menounos was privately battling Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, she shared with People. Fortunately, doctors successfully removed a 3.9-inch tumor along with part of her pancreas, her spleen, a large fibroid and 17 lymph nodes.
"This whole year has been trauma, stress, crisis," Menounos, who was diagnosed with and was treated for a brain tumor in 2017, told the outlet. "I had that moment where I thought I was a goner—but I'm okay because I caught this early enough."
Getting to a place of healing wasn't easy. Over the summer, the 44-year-old began suffering from such severe leg cramps that, as she explained, "I'd scream out loud. I was inconsolable."
She later learned she had type 1 diabetes—which runs in her family—and began taking insulin and monitoring her glucose. "I was crushing it," a hopeful Menounous recalled. "I felt so good. What else could go wrong?" Well...
In November, she returned to the hospital with what she called "with excruciating abdominal pain coupled with diarrhea."
A CT scan and further testing came back inconclusive, but her pain continued. At one point, she described, she felt "like someone was tearing my insides out."
Finally, a full body MRI revealed a mass on her pancreas, with a biopsy confirming it was cancerous. "I'm like 'How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?'" the former E! host said. "All I could think was that I have a baby coming."
Though the surgery was a success, the road to recovery has, admittedly, been difficult, with Menounous—who does not need chemotherapy, just routine scans—struggling to move.
Her family, including Keven and her dad Constantinos, have been her pillars of strength. (Her mom Litsa died in 2017 after a battle with brain cancer.)
"I'm so grateful and so lucky," Menounos shared, who is counting down the days to her baby's arrival this summer. "God granted me a miracle. I'm going to appreciate having her in my life so much more than I would have before this journey."
She knows her mom is right there with her, too. "I know my mom had a cup of greek coffee with god and said it's time," Menounos said in February. "So grateful for the blessing in our lives. Cant believe I'm sharing this news without her in the physical, but I know she made it happen on the other side and is going to be with me every step of the way."
For the latest breaking news updates, click here to download the E! News AppveryGood! (4)
Related
- Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
- Swiss manufacturer Liebherr to bring jobs to north Mississippi
- Whale surfaces, capsizes fishing boat off New Hampshire coast
- Wisconsin, in a first, to unveil a Black woman’s statue in its Capitol
- Krispy Kreme offers a free dozen Grinch green doughnuts: When to get the deal
- New York City’s Marshes, Resplendent and Threatened
- Swiss manufacturer Liebherr to bring jobs to north Mississippi
- Voters who want Cornel West on presidential ballot sue North Carolina election board
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- University system leader will be interim president at University of West Georgia
Ranking
- Juan Soto to be introduced by Mets at Citi Field after striking record $765 million, 15
- 'Horrifying': Officials, lawmakers, Biden react to deputy shooting Sonya Massey
- Billy Ray Cyrus' Estranged Wife Firerose Marks Major Milestone Amid Divorce
- The flickering glow of summer’s fireflies: too important to lose, too small to notice them gone
- Federal court filings allege official committed perjury in lawsuit tied to Louisiana grain terminal
- Simone Biles won’t be required to do all four events in Olympic gymnastics team final
- Police seek suspects caught on video after fireworks ignite California blaze
- Why the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics are already an expensive nightmare for many locals and tourists
Recommendation
Jamie Foxx gets stitches after a glass is thrown at him during dinner in Beverly Hills
What time does 'Big Brother' start? New airtimes released for Season 26; see episode schedule
Demonstrators stage mass protest against Netanyahu visit and US military aid to Israel
Mega Millions winning numbers for July 23 drawing: Jackpot climbs to $279 million
House passes bill to add 66 new federal judgeships, but prospects murky after Biden veto threat
Elon Musk Says Transgender Daughter Vivian Was Killed by Woke Mind Virus
What is Crowdstrike? What to know about company linked to global IT outage
Voters who want Cornel West on presidential ballot sue North Carolina election board