Maria Menounos Reveals She Battled Pancreatic Cancer While Expecting 1st Child: ‘It Was Super Painful’

usmagazine.com:

A harrowing situation. Maria Menounos revealed that she secretly battled pancreatic cancer before announcing that she’s expecting her first child via surrogate.The TV host, 44, was diagnosed with stage II pancreatic cancer in January after experiencing severe abdominal pain and diarrhea. “They said, ‘Everything’s fine.’ But I kept having pains,” the former pageant queen told People in an interview published on Wednesday, May 3.

At one point, the pain was so acute that Menounos said it felt “like someone was tearing my insides out.”After a whole-body MRI, the TV personality’s doctors discovered a 3.9-cm mass on her pancreas and confirmed it was cancerous with a biopsy.

In February, she underwent surgery to remove the tumor along with part of her pancreas, her spleen, 17 lymph nodes and a fibroid. “It was super painful,” Menounos recalled. “I couldn’t move or lift myself up.”The Dancing With the Stars alum was diagnosed just months after learning that she has type 1 diabetes.

After changing her diet, taking insulin and monitoring her glucose levels, Menounos was feeling like herself again in October, but then her abdominal pains started.In order to view the video, please allow Manage CookiesIn the meantime, she and husband Keven Undergaro were gearing up for the arrival of their first child via surrogate.