Maria Menounos has stepped down as the co-anchor of E! News as she recovers from recent surgery to remove a brain tumour. The announcement came on the same day that she opened up about her diagnosis to People magazine, revealing that she recently underwent a seven-hour operation to remove the benign tumour. Maria said that her surgeon had been able to remove almost 100 per cent of the tumour, which was said to be the size of a golf ball. "He said there's a six to seven per cent chance that we'll see it come back," she shared. "But I'll take those odds any day."
Maria Menounos recently underwent surgery to remove a brain tumour
The 39-year-old joined E! in 2014, and started hosting its news show the following year. Her diagnosis came at the same time that her mother is battling stage four brain cancer. The star – who scheduled her surgery for 8 June, her 39th birthday – said she hoped that sharing her story would help others. "My perspective on life is completely different now," she said. "I feel like I have to find my real purpose." And just like her mother, the star is doing her best to stay positive. "This was a blessing. A lot of beautiful things have come from this," Maria said. "I saw all of this as a gift from the beginning.
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Maria pictured with her fiancé, Keven Undergaro
"I tell people all the time if your car is making a weird noise, you take it to the mechanic. How come when our body is making weird noises, we ignore it? I'm so lucky that I went to the doctor and raised the alarm. Who knows what could have happened?"
Maria has also revealed that she and her fiancé, Keven Undergaro, are moving forward with their plans to start a family via in vitro fertilisation. She praised her 51-year-old partner for caring for her throughout her health crisis. "He'd nap with me so I didn't feel like I was ever alone, never left my side, never left my hospital, never got tired, never nothing," she said.