Maria Menounos has revealed the strange symptom that led her to be diagnosed with one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
The TV personality, 45, suffered excruciating pain that felt like she was going to “explode inside” after eating farro salad on a flight.
Doctors initially dismissed his bloating symptoms, but after he went to a second hospital for a scan he was diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer.
Menounos, who at the time was expecting her daughter Athena to be born via surrogate, underwent surgery to remove the 1.5-inch tumor and said she was now in remission.
Maria Menounos is pictured showing her scars after surgery in February 2023.
Doctors initially dismissed his bloating symptoms, but after he went to a second hospital for a scan he was diagnosed with stage two pancreatic cancer.
The mother is pictured with her husband Keven Undergaro and their newborn daughter, Athena.
Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest types of cancer in the United States, with only one in ten patients surviving more than a year after their diagnosis.
Menounos, who has 1.1 million followers on Instagram, said today that her case highlights the need to listen to the symptoms in the body, even when doctors dismiss them.
She said TODAY that after eating the salad he suffered ‘that kind of pain where you felt like you were going to explode inside.’
‘I thought it was the farro. “I thought I was becoming very gluten intolerant and my stomach wasn’t handling it well,” she added.
Massachusetts-based Menounos went to his doctor for an endoscopy and colonoscopy after stomach pain appeared in 2022, but nothing unusual came up.
They also did a CT scan which also found nothing; the results even described his pancreas as “normal.”
But his symptoms persisted: the television personality also suffered from diarrhea and in November 2022 he suffered pain again.
This led her to go to another hospital in January for a full-body MRI, which revealed the tumor in her pancreas.
He was later told that the CT scan missed this because it wasn’t seen as clearly as on the MRI.
She underwent emergency surgery and in February 2023 the tumor was surgically removed along with part of the pancreas and part of the spleen and 17 lymph nodes, which are part of a separate circulatory system in the body for fluids.
The cancer had not spread through his body and he did not need further treatment.
Menounos went to his doctor for an endoscopy and colonoscopy after the stomach pain appeared in 2022, but nothing unusual came up.
Mary holding her daughter, Athena, who was born through surrogacy
The images above show stage 0 and stage IA and IB cancer.
The above shows stage two pancreatic cancer, where a tumor has arisen within the pancreas.
In stage three, the tumor has grown and begun to spread to nearby lymph nodes.
And in the fourth stage it has begun to spread to other areas of the body through the bloodstream.
Menounos is now doing well, but continues to monitor her symptoms and record any worrying feelings in a book so she can keep track.
Posting a picture of herself in a bikini, showing off the scars from her surgery, the mom wrote on social media: “I remember the surgery earlier this year and am grateful for the strength God blessed me with to get through it and for of course, for all the beautiful humans you sent to help me too!
‘Now I see the scars that I carefully put sunscreen on to protect and I smile. ‘
His daughter Atenea is four months old and he described her as the “love of my life” and “my best medicine.”
‘You will be taught that the first thing in your life is to be healthy, and then you can achieve and do whatever you want from there,” Menounos said.
She revealed her diagnosis and urged others to advocate for their health, even when doctors tell them their symptoms are nothing to worry about.
Pancreatic cancer is a less common type of cancer, with around 64,000 cases diagnosed each year, accounting for three percent of all cancer cases.
She underwent emergency surgery and in February 2023 the tumor was surgically removed along with part of the pancreas and part of the spleen and 17 lymph nodes, which are part of a separate circulatory system in the body for fluids.
‘I believe the next chapter of my life will be the healthiest because I have been forced to reevaluate my health in a very profound way. The course of everything has changed.
Pancreatic cancer is a less common type of cancer: around 64,000 cases are diagnosed each year, accounting for three percent of all cancer cases.
But it is usually not detected until later stages, when the disease has advanced and spread to other areas of the body, making it difficult to treat.
This is because it rarely triggers symptoms in the early stages and the warning signs can be so subtle that they are dismissed as less serious health conditions.
About two-thirds of patients diagnosed with cancer are over age 65, and nearly all are over age 45, according to the American Cancer Society.
She will reveal her case as part of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month this November.
Dr Julie Fleshman, President of Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, said: “We are so grateful to Maria and our other PanCAN ambassadors who so bravely share their stories to raise awareness about the importance of early detection for survival.
“In addition to educating the public about the risks and symptoms of pancreatic cancer, PanCAN will continue to make significant investments in research to find an early detection strategy for this disease.”
Pancreatic cancer causes few symptoms in the early stages because it grows deep in the abdomen, which also makes it difficult to detect.
Triggered symptoms, such as stomach pain and intestinal problems, can also be easily overlooked or attributed to other health problems.
