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

Presenter previously had a tumour removed from her brain

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.

Maria Menounos pictured in 2022 (Getty Images)

“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.”