Maria Menounos reveals she underwent surgery for pancreatic cancer while expecting baby girl

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Kelly Rissman

US News Reporter

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Maria Menounos has revealed that she was treated for pancreatic cancer earlier this year.

The former E! News presenter previously underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour.

Speaking to People magazine, Menounos revealed that painful leg cramps prompted her to visit the hospital, where she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. After adjusting her lifestyle to deal with this diagnosis, she began suffering “excruciating abdominal pain coupled with diarrhoea”.

After extensive medical testing, it was a full-body MRI scan that revealed the presence of a 3.9cm mass on her pancreas, later confirmed to be a stage 2 neuroendocrine tumour.

“I’m like ‘How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumour and pancreatic cancer?’ ” she remarked to the outlet.

At the time of her diagnosis in January, Menounos and her husband were expecting a child, to be born via surrogate.

In February, the presenter had the tumour surgically removed, along with a part of her pancreas, her spleen, a fibroid and 17 lymph nodes.

“It was super painful. I couldn’t move or lift myself up,” she said.

According to her doctors, Menounos is not expected to require any further treatment for the next five years, beyond scans.

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“I’m so grateful and so lucky,” she said. “God granted me a miracle.

“I’m going to appreciate having [my daughter] in my life so much more than I would have before this journey.”

In 2017, Menounos left her role as an anchor on E! News, telling fans that she was undergoing surgery on a brain tumour the size of a golf ball.

Speaking at the time, the presenter said: “We’re caretakers as women and we put ourselves last.

“I tell people all the time, if your car is making a weird noise, you take it to the mechanic. How come when our body is making weird noises, we ignore it? I’m so lucky that I went to the doctor and raised the alarm.”