Maria Menounos’ Courageous Battle: Surviving Pancreatic Cancer While Awaiting Her First Child

Television personality and journalist Maria Menounos bravely shared her secret health battle with pancreatic cancer, a diagnosis that came as she and her husband were eagerly expecting their first child via surrogate. Her journey, revealed in May 2023, highlighted a harrowing period of intense pain, difficult surgery, and a powerful message about early detection and resilience.

• Maria Menounos, a well-known journalist and television personality, received a pancreatic cancer diagnosis in early 2023.
• This challenging health crisis unfolded while she and her husband, Keven Undergaro, were preparing to welcome their baby girl.
• Her story emphasizes the critical importance of listening to one’s body and advocating for thorough medical evaluations.

The entertainment world was stunned when Maria Menounos, 45, publicly disclosed her secret fight against pancreatic cancer. The revelation in May 2023 shed light on months of private struggle, including undergoing significant treatment and surgery in January 2023. At the same time, Maria and her husband, Keven Undergaro, were filled with anticipation, as they awaited the arrival of their first child through a surrogate. In an emotional interview with PEOPLE, Menounos described the ordeal as “super painful,” detailing the physical and emotional toll it took.

“It was super painful,” she recounted, explaining the profound physical limitations she experienced. “I couldn’t move or lift myself up.” Throughout this arduous period, her devoted husband, Keven Undergaro, whom she married in 2017, remained a steadfast pillar of support. Their bond, tested previously when Maria underwent surgery for a benign intracranial tumor (meningioma) in 2017, proved unbreakable once again. Her recovery from that brain tumor had been successful, but new health challenges were unfortunately on the horizon, leading to this life-altering diagnosis.

Maria Menounos’ Unprecedented Health Timeline: From Benign Tumor to Pancreatic Cancer

Maria Menounos’ health journey has been marked by a series of unexpected turns. After successfully recovering from the benign brain tumor removal in 2017, she encountered further health complications beginning in June 2022. She initially experienced severe leg cramps, which led to a diagnosis of type 1 diabetes. Diligently managing her condition with insulin and a strict diet, she reported feeling “so good” and “crushing it” by October 2022. However, this period of well-being was short-lived. Just a month later, she was struck by “excruciating abdominal pain and diarrhea,” signaling a more serious underlying issue.

Despite initial reassurances from medical professionals that “everything was fine,” Maria’s persistent and escalating pain prompted her to seek further, more comprehensive evaluations. Her unwavering intuition led her to push for a full body MRI, a decision that ultimately proved life-saving. The scan tragically revealed a 3.9 cm mass on her pancreas, which was subsequently diagnosed as stage 2 pancreatic cancer. The news was understandably shattering for Menounos. “I’m like, ‘How in the freaking world can I have a brain tumor and pancreatic cancer?’” she wondered, overwhelmed by the dual blows to her health. Her immediate and profound concern was for her unborn child: “All I could think was that I have a baby coming.”

Understanding Maria’s Treatment: Surgery and Recovery

Maria’s battle against pancreatic cancer necessitated aggressive treatment. Her medical team opted for surgery to remove the malignant tumor, a complex procedure that also involved the removal of her spleen, a large fibroid, and 17 surrounding lymph nodes to ensure the cancer had not spread. The surgery itself was extensive, followed by a demanding recovery period. Recalling the immediate aftermath, Maria reiterated to PEOPLE, “It was super painful. I couldn’t move or lift myself up.” This highlights the significant physical toll the illness and subsequent surgery had on her body, requiring immense strength and resilience during her recuperation.

What Is Pancreatic Cancer? A Deeper Look at the Disease

Pancreatic cancer is a highly aggressive and often deadly disease that arises from the uncontrolled growth of cells in the pancreas, a vital organ situated deep within the abdomen, behind the lower part of the stomach. The pancreas performs two crucial functions: it produces enzymes essential for digestion and hormones, such as insulin, that regulate blood sugar levels. According to the Mayo Clinic, the most prevalent form of pancreatic cancer, known as pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, originates in the cells lining the ducts that transport digestive enzymes out of the pancreas.

Symptoms, Risk Factors, and Diagnosis

One of the primary reasons pancreatic cancer is so challenging to treat effectively is its stealthy nature. It typically does not present noticeable symptoms until it has advanced significantly or metastasized to other organs, making early detection exceedingly rare. This often means that by the time a diagnosis is made, the cancer is no longer localized and thus, less curable. Common symptoms, which often appear subtly and can be mistaken for less severe conditions, include:

• Abdominal pain: Often radiating to the back.
• Unexplained weight loss and loss of appetite: Due to digestive issues and the cancer’s metabolic demands.
• Jaundice: Yellowing of the skin and/or the whites of the eyes, caused by a bile duct blockage.
• Light-colored stools and dark urine: Also indicative of bile duct obstruction.
• Itchy skin: A result of bile salt buildup.
• New diagnosis of diabetes or worsening existing diabetes: As the cancer can impair insulin production.
• Blood clots: Particularly in the legs (deep vein thrombosis) or lungs (pulmonary embolism), known as Trousseau’s syndrome.

Several factors can increase an individual’s risk of developing pancreatic cancer. These include age (most cases occur after age 60), smoking, obesity, a family history of pancreatic cancer, chronic pancreatitis, and certain inherited genetic syndromes. Diagnosing pancreatic cancer typically involves a combination of imaging tests (such as CT scans, MRI, or endoscopic ultrasound), blood tests (including tumor markers like CA 19-9), and a biopsy to confirm the presence of cancer cells. Maria’s story underscores the importance of a thorough diagnostic approach, especially when initial tests yield inconclusive results but symptoms persist.

Treatment Approaches for Pancreatic Cancer

The treatment strategy for pancreatic cancer is highly individualized, depending on the stage of the cancer, its location, the patient’s overall health, and personal preferences. Options may include:

• Surgery: For localized tumors, surgery is the only potentially curative treatment. Procedures can range from a Whipple procedure (pancreaticoduodenectomy) for tumors in the head of the pancreas, to a distal pancreatectomy for tumors in the body or tail (as likely performed for Maria, given her spleen removal), or a total pancreatectomy. These are complex operations with significant recovery periods.
• Chemotherapy: Often used before surgery (neoadjuvant), after surgery (adjuvant) to kill remaining cancer cells, or as a primary treatment for advanced cancer to control growth and alleviate symptoms (palliative).
• Radiation Therapy: Can be used in conjunction with chemotherapy to shrink tumors before surgery, kill remaining cancer cells after surgery, or to manage pain and other symptoms in advanced cases.
• Targeted Therapy and Immunotherapy: Newer approaches that focus on specific vulnerabilities in cancer cells or boost the body’s immune response against cancer. These are often considered for advanced cases or specific genetic mutations.

Maria Menounos’ Journey Through Illness and Her Path to Recovery

Maria Menounos’ health decline began in June 2022 with her type 1 diabetes diagnosis. However, the more alarming symptoms of abdominal pain emerged in November 2022, eventually leading to her pancreatic cancer diagnosis in January 2023. Her subsequent surgery and intensive recovery spanned the first half of the year, a period she described as intensely challenging both physically and mentally. Her journey through illness highlights the critical period between experiencing symptoms and receiving a definitive diagnosis, a phase often fraught with uncertainty and anxiety.

Maria Menounos Today: A Message of Hope and Gratitude

Thanks to her persistence and the early detection of her cancer, Maria Menounos received a “good prognosis” prior to her surgery. Her story serves as a powerful testament to the importance of proactive health management. “I need people to know that there are places they can go to catch things early,” she urged after her recovery. “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.” This message of empowerment against fear is a central theme of her public sharing.

As of May 2023, reports indicated that Maria would not require any further treatment following her successful surgery. However, she will undergo annual scans for the next five years to closely monitor her condition and ensure no recurrence. Her focus has now shifted entirely to the joyous anticipation of welcoming her baby girl, expected in the summer of 2023. The imminent arrival of her daughter, whose sex has been confirmed, has imbued Maria with an even profounder sense of gratitude and perspective. “I’m so grateful and lucky,” Maria expressed. “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.” Her courageous battle against cancer, interwoven with the miracle of impending motherhood, stands as an inspiring narrative of hope, resilience, and the invaluable gift of life.