Celebrity

Maria Menounos Diagnosed with Golf Ball-Sized Brain Tumour, Leaves E! News

Sending all our love to this family of incredibly strong women

By Ishani Nath July 4, 2017

E! News host in April 2017 looking over her shoulder at the camera and smiling with her mouth closed. Her hair is brown and down and she's wearing a leather jacket.

(Photo: Rob Latour/Variety/REX/Shutterstock)

Maria Menounos built her career reporting updates on celebrities, but the E! News correspondent has recently become the subject of tragic headlines.

The 39-year-old entertainment personality revealed that she was diagnosed with a brain tumour and underwent a seven-hour surgery in early June to have it removed. According to E! News, the tumour was the size of a golf ball.

Menounos’s tumour, a meningioma, was benign and after the news of her health challenges became public, she posted to Instagram thanking fans for their support and reassuring everyone that she is on the mend.

“I want you all to know that I’m OK!,” she wrote. “Seriously I’m recovering well and should be as good as new very, very soon!”

The E! News anchor first noticed that something was off at work. She told People that her speech had started to slur and she found it tough to read the teleprompter. Those symptoms alone were enough for her to get an MRI—largely because of her family history.

Menounos’s mother, Litsa, was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer last September and is still undergoing treatment. In her cover story for People, Menounos said that she used her mother’s strength and positive outlook as an example.

First I wanna say thank you all for the well wishes, prayers and support. It’s been a crazy time here in our home. I want you all to know that I’m ok! Seriously I’m recovering well and should be as good as new very very soon! Luckily I don’t need any further treatments but I can’t say the same about my mom. So please keep her in your prayers. I also want to thank @people for allowing me to share my story. @juliejordanc & @mrjesscagle THANK YOU’ Next-I need to thank everyone at @cedarssinai everyone there has been amazing. Most people want to rush out of the hospital to get home I kept saying I’ve never been treated kinder. I cried like a baby saying goodbye to the amazing nurses who took such good care of me. God bless nurses! I of course need to thank dr black and dr Chu for performing an amazing surgery and giving me the best bday gift ever-my health. And lastly, god has blessed me in so many ways but this too was a blessing. I got to hear what I have meant to my friends and family-it’s been quite moving for me. I want thank all of my incredible friends, family and even strangers who have shown me and my family such kindness. @alyssawallerce Thank you for being with me every step of the way. I couldn’t have done it without you. @iamjoegear You too! And to @undergaro the best nurse in the world..you never left the hospital and slept by my side there. you are my everything and I’m so thankful to you. You and dad have really been incredible to mom and me. You both have inspired me. I’ve never been more excited about life. I see so much so clearly. Will share more with all of you soon! Xo

A post shared by maria menounos (@mariamenounos) on Jul 3, 2017 at 7:48am PDT

Menounos underwent surgery on her 39th birthday. On Instagram, she gave a shout out to the staff at L.A.’s Cedars-Sinai Hospital thanking them for the best birthday gift she’s ever received: her health.

Though doctors say there is a chance her tumour could return, Menounos—who has appeared on a wide variety of film and television projects ranging from Fox and Friends to WWE and The Mindy Project—said that at present, she doesn’t need any further treatments.

With a new perspective on life, the celebrity correspondent left her job at E! News to take some time for herself, focus on her wellbeing and figure out her true purpose.

“I’ve never been more excited about life,” she said.