While Maria Menounos and her husband Keven Undergaro have been waiting nearly a decade to finally have a baby, and that wish is coming true this summer, the last couple of months for the two have been extremely painful to say the least.
The pair, who have been married since 2017 though together for over 20 years, announced they were expecting their first child together via surrogacy in February.
However, as exciting as that has been, the couples' time waiting for their baby to arrive has been upended by the television personality's battle with cancer, which she has just revealed.
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In an exclusive with People, Maria revealed for the first time that she recently survived pancreatic cancer. "This whole year has been trauma, stress, crisis," she said.
The former E! News correspondent explained she was diagnosed in January with Stage 2 pancreatic cancer, and after undergoing a successful surgery "to remove a 3.9cm tumor," she is now on the road to recovery.
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"There was a minute when we were planning something, and then it became too much. I thought, 'I just need to heal,'" she said of grappling with both her baby and cancer news at the same time.
Now she is opening up in an effort to inspire others to make sure they keep their health in check. She said: "I need people to know there are places they can go to catch things early," adding: "You can't let fear get in the way. I had that moment where I thought I was a goner – but I'm okay because I caught this early enough."
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Maria, 44, has been transparent about previous health battles in the past, including being treated for a benign brain tumor in 2017, as well as a type 1 diabetes diagnosis, which runs in her family.
"I'm so grateful and so lucky," she says now that she is on the mend, and all her attention can finally be diverted to the arrival of her baby, a girl, she recently revealed.
"I'm going to appreciate having her in my life so much more than I would have before this journey."
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