Maria Menounos is opening up about recovering from her brain tumor diagnosis and revealing how her mom is doing as she continues to battle stage four brain cancer.
Maria, who shot to fame as a WWE diva, made an emotional appearance on NBC’s The Today Show on August 30 where she gave fans an update on their health.
“We’re both doing well,” Maria said of herself and her mom, Litsa Menounos, almost three months after announcing that she had undergone brain surgery to remove a meningioma the size of a golf ball while her mom battles brain cancer.
“It’s a process, and right now she’s stable and doing well, but there are definitely a lot of things that go with it,” the former E! News host continued, calling their lives right now “an emotional ride” while revealing that the first anniversary of her mom’s cancer diagnosis had just passed.
Fortunately, the host continued to give fans good news when it came to her own health and confirmed that she’s “getting better and better” each week as she continues to recover from the invasive surgery.
Maria revealed on the morning show that she still has a little trouble chewing on her right side, which is the side they removed the tumor from, as she said that the surgery had affected her trigeminal nerve which is the nerve that has control of the face.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttAUeU2BVEk
Adding that she also gets dizzy from time to time after going under the knife, she added, “Overall I feel so lucky to be functioning and almost normal, and to not have cancer.”
The star then went on to admit that her diagnosis and her mom’s cancer battle has allowed her to gain a new perspective on life.
“I’ve been able to look back at everything, and I did see this as a gift,” she said of her reflecting on her health and impressive and lengthy career. “I did shift everything into positives throughout this whole journey.”
Maria then went on to praise her fiancé, Keven Undergaro, who she’s been dating since 1998 and got engaged to last year, for how he’s supported her and her the Menounos family over the past few months.
“The man has not left my side,” said Maria of her long-time partner, telling the Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie that he’s been keeping her family together during their incredibly traumatic time.
“Not only is he taking care of me, he’s helping me take care of my mom and my dad,” she continued of how Keven has stepped up to support her, adding that he’s been “keeping us all strong.”
Maria confirmed in July that she had been diagnosed with a brain tumor in an emotional interview with People .
She told the magazine of her surprising reaction to the news, admitting that she actually laughed rather than crying when she was told about her brain tumor by her doctor.
“I didn’t cry. I actually laughed,” Maria said of how she responded to the shocking news about her health. “It’s so surreal and crazy and unbelievable that my mom has a brain tumor – and now I have one too?”
The former Dancing with the Stars contestant and Access Hollywood host quickly underwent surgery after being told of the tumor and confirmed that surgeons had successfully managed to remove 99.9 percent of the meningioma from her brain.
However, Maria sadly added that there’s still a six to seven percent chance that it could one day return.
She also confirmed in July that she would be stepping down from her hosting duties on E! News to spend more time with her family, namely her mom mom, as she continues her fight with cancer.
The star got a whole lot of love after opening up about her health story and received messages of support from a number of stars online, including Chelsea Clinton and fellow former WWE wrestler Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.
[Featured Image by John Sciulli/Getty Images for InStyle]