Maria Menounos, co-anchor of E! News, says her brain tumor diagnosis was a ‘gift’ that has given her a different perspective on life.
The 39-year-old was forced to step down from her role earlier this year after doctors discovered the benign mass.
Now, after an operation in June to remove 99.9 percent of the golf-ball sized meningioma, she has told Today that the shock diagnosis has changed her life as she was forced to confront her mortality.
‘I’m just so much calmer because I just see things so differently now,’ she told Savannah Guthrie on Wednesday morning.
‘I did see this all as a gift and I shifted everything into positives throughout this whole journey.’
New perspective: Maria Menounos, 39, spoke to Savannah Guthrie on Today this morning to say that the shock diagnosis has changed her life as she was forced to confront her mortality
She added: ‘Overall I feel so lucky to be functioning, to be almost normal and to not have cancer.’
The tumor was removed in a seven-hour operation on June 8, but she will be closely monitored to ensure it doesn’t grow back.
Meanwhile, her mother Litsa is battling stage 4 brain cancer.
Menounos has mentioned Litsa in every interview, saying her mother is going through so much worse than what she faced.
Nonetheless, she admitted to Guthrie that the journey has been hard.
She spoke about her fiancé and partner of 19 years, Keven Undergaro, saying he helped her get through it all.
‘He’s been unbelievable. The man has not left my side…He’s done everything I ever could have dreamed of,’ Menounos said, tearing up.
WHAT IS A MENINGIOMA?
Technically, a meningioma is not a tumor of the brain, it is a tumor of the meninges (tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord).
However, it is included in the category of brain tumors since it puts pressure on nerves in the brain. In fact, it accounts for 36 percent of brain tumors.
It typically forms in a patient’s head, rather than spine, and most cases (around 85 percent) are benign.
They tend to be slow-growing, and occur twice as often in women than in men.
Maria’s revelation triggered a huge spike in Google searches on Monday for ‘meningioma’, the type of tumor she has
A meningioma is not a tumor of the brain, it is a tumor of the meninges (tissue surrounding the brain and spinal cord). However, it is included in the category of brain tumors since it puts pressure on nerves in the brain. In fact, it accounts for 36 percent of brain tumors
WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO SPOT?
Due to their slow growth, most patients live with their meningioma for years before symptoms arise.
When they do eventually cause symptoms, the symptoms are not always the same; it depends on where the growth is, and what part of the brain is suffering pressure.
For example, it could be pressing on a nerve that affects facial sensation, meaning the patient suffers facial numbness. In another case, it could be pressing on the olfactory nerve, affecting one’s sense of smell.
Broadly, doctors look out for these symptoms as warning signs of a brain tumor:
- Blurry or double vision
- Increasingly painful headaches
- Memory loss
- Loss of smell
- Weak arms or legs
- An epileptic fit or seizure
- Hearing a ringing sound or loss of hearing
WHAT CAUSES IT?
While the causes are unclear, most research to date suggests it to be genetic.
Patients also have a higher risk of developing a meningioma if they have undergone radiotherapy for another illness.
Obesity and breast cancer have also been said to increase one’s risk.
Family fight: Menounos’s diagnosis came as her mother battles stage 4 brain cancer
WHAT ARE THE RISKS OF SURGERY?
Brain surgery is incredibly delicate. Even the most low-level procedures carry a five percent risk of the patient suffering a stroke or becoming severely disabled.
There is also a risk that they will be left with issues concentrating, memory loss and seizures.
Many choose to postpone treatment to avoid the risks, while watching the benign growth and operating when it’s necessary. Since meningiomas tend to be benign, this is a popular choice and one neurosurgeons recommend as a valid option.
Menounos insists her operation was successful and her prognosis is strong.
It is not clear if she will be having any further treatment yet.
In most cases, if the tumor is benign and doctors removed almost all of it, the patient has two options: undergo scans now and then to monitor it, or get radiation treatment to target the remaining piece.