Maria Menounos Describes the 'Excruciating' Symptoms That Led to Her Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis

Earlier this year, Maria Menounos shocked fans when she revealed she’d been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She underwent surgery in February to remove the neuroendocrine tumor on her pancreas, as well as her spleen, a large fibroid, and 17 lymph nodes, and has since dedicated herself to speaking out about the experience. Her main goal? To raise awareness and encourage others to advocate for their health, and she’s since partnered with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN) to do just that.

In a Q&A video the campaign released to SheKnows, Menounos recalled feeling early symptoms of pancreatic cancer while eating a farro salad on a plane. She started experiencing “excruciating pain,” to the point that “tears were streaming down my face,” she said in the video. “I [didn’t] know what to do.”

The TV host assumed the gluten in the farro was messing with her system and vowed to cut it from her diet. Then, in November 2022, Menounos experienced the pain again, so intense it left her “buckled over.” A CT scan didn’t find anything abnormal. But as symptoms persisted, Menounos sought a full-body MRI, she told Today.com, where doctors then found a “large mass” on her pancreas.

“Your world just gets rocked so fast,” Menounos said in the video. “When you hear ‘tumor on your pancreas,’ you do not think anything good is going to come of that.” Menounos and her husband were also expecting their first daughter, via a surrogate, at the time. “I was like, ‘God, how could you finally give me a baby after 10 years of trying and now I’m not gonna get to meet her?” Menounos recalled thinking. “How could this even be? This makes no sense.”

Menounos underwent surgery at UCLA and didn’t require any other treatment, as doctors found that the cancer hadn’t spread to her lymph nodes. She told Today that she’s now doing well and her prognosis is positive, though she stays vigilant for any symptoms.

Menounos has also dedicated herself to raising awareness about the disease, including the new PanCAN partnership. She hopes to emphasize that “early detection, paying attention to your body and the signals it’s giving you” is the best thing you can do for your health. “I want people to understand that they have to be the CEO of their health,” Menounos explains, “and that they have to pay attention.”

It’s tough with pancreatic cancer, which typically comes with nonspecific symptoms. According to PanCAN, these can include abdominal or back pain, unexplained weight loss, yellowing of the skin or eyes (aka jaundice), loss of appetite, nausea, a change in your stool, pancreatitis, and new-onset diabetes. Surgery is offers the “best chance of controlling pancreatic cancer for a long time,” PanCAN notes, but “most patients are diagnosed at later stages and are not eligible for surgery. Tests to find pancreatic cancer in the earliest stages are urgently needed.”

It makes awareness efforts even more important. “I keep saying to people: If the symptoms persist, so should you,” Menounos told Today. “You have to be your own advocate and you have to keep pushing. It’s exhausting, but your life really depends on it.”

Before you go, read about these celebs who have spoken out about their autoimmune disorders: