Maria Menounos has opened up about excruciating pain she experienced after eating a salad mid-flight ahead of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
The 45-year-old TV presenter revealed the bizarre symtom prior to discovering she was sick with stage two pancreatic cancer. The former E! News host explained that she was suffering extreme pain that made her feel like she was going to “explode inside” after eating a farro salad during a flight a year ago. But what she believed at the time was just a severe stomach ache ended up being a tumor growing on her pancreas.
Maria told TODAY.com: “It was like that kind of pain where you felt like you were going to explode inside,” she continued: “I thought it was the farro. I thought that I must be getting really gluten intolerant and my stomach just was not handling this well.”
After continuing to suffer from stomach pain she decided to see a doctor to get to the bottom of her digestive issues. In 2022, she had both an endoscopy, colonoscopy, and CT done to see why she might have been experiencing stomach pain but all of her results came back normal.
Despite nothing seeming out of the ordinary, Maria’s uncomfortable symptoms continued to persist until the point she was doubled over in pain. After the alarming incident, Maria was certain something was wrong and decided to get a full-body MRI scan done at a private company. The scan showed that she had a 3.9-centimeter mass growing on her pancreas.
Maria told the news outlet: “That’s why I keep saying to people: If the symptoms persist, so should you,” she continued: “You have to be your own advocate and you have to keep pushing. It’s exhausting, but your life really depends on it.”
In February, Maria announced that she had her tumor surgically removed in addition to a portion of her pancreas, spleen, a fibroid, and 17 lymph nodes. Following the procedure, Maria said she is doing much better and and doesn’t have to undergo any other treatment. After her terrifying health scare she has decided to collaborate with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network to raise awareness about the disease and promote the importance of early detection.
Julie Fleshman, the president and CEO of PanCAN, told the news outlet: “With a disease as tough as pancreatic cancer, which has no standard screening test and vague symptoms, we are very grateful to high-profile individuals such as Maria who are willing to so bravely share their stories to raise awareness about the importance of early detection for survival,” and added: “Her diagnosis illustrates the fact that pancreatic cancer does not discriminate.”
In other news – Pitso Mosimane recovers after being rushed to the hospital
South African coach Pitso Mosimane recovers well after a health scare this week. The 59-year-old coach was rushed to the hospital after a health scare in the United Arab Emirates.
Mosimane suffered from shortness of breath and was rushed to the hospital for treatment. Read More
