From a benign brain tumor and a type 1 diabetes diagnosis to a shocking battle with stage 2 pancreatic cancer, Maria Menounos has faced formidable health challenges. Yet, she has transformed these adversities into a powerful platform, becoming a fervent advocate for early detection and empowering others to take charge of their well-being, a journey deeply intertwined with her “Heal Squad” podcast philosophy.
Television personality and health advocate Maria Menounos has garnered significant attention not just for her media career, but for her incredibly candid and inspiring journey through multiple serious health diagnoses. Her story is a testament to resilience, the power of self-advocacy, and the profound impact of proactive health management. From grappling with a brain tumor to navigating a pancreatic cancer diagnosis while expecting her first child, Menounos has embraced her challenges, using them as catalysts for profound personal growth and public service.
A History of Health Battles: More Than One Adversary
Menounos’s health odyssey began years before her most recent scare. In 2017, she underwent surgery to remove a golf-ball-sized, benign brain tumor. Reflecting on this period, she remarkably described it as “the best thing that ever happened to me,” a sentiment she shared with People. This initial crisis forced her to re-evaluate her demanding, Type-A lifestyle, where she prioritized everyone else’s needs over her own. It was a wake-up call, fostering a new sense of self-compassion and a simpler approach to life.
In 2023, new, unsettling symptoms emerged, including unexplained pains and a puzzling diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes at 43 years old, despite her healthy lifestyle. This didn’t sit right with Menounos, a suspicion that would later prove crucial in uncovering a more insidious issue.
The Shocking Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosis
The persistent abdominal pains led Menounos back to the hospital. An initial CT scan, shockingly, came back “unremarkable,” a critical detail she recounted to Access Hollywood. However, her intuition urged her to seek further answers. Just two months later, a second look at the initial scans revealed a two-centimeter mass on her pancreas that had been missed. This mass had doubled in size, prompting a friend to suggest a Prenuvo whole-body MRI screening.
The Prenuvo test and subsequent confirmation at UCLA delivered the devastating news: stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine cancer. The diagnosis came at a profoundly sensitive time, as Menounos was expecting her first child, daughter Athena, via surrogate with husband Keven Undergaro. Overwhelmed, she described the moment to Access Hollywood as feeling “numb” and “terrified,” questioning how she could finally be blessed with a baby only to face such a severe health threat.
Menounos bravely kept her diagnosis private from many, including her surrogate, until she was past the critical stages. Her resilience paid off, and after a successful surgery in February 2023, she received the joyous news of clear pathology, declaring herself cancer-free.
“Heal Squad”: A Lifeline in Adversity
Throughout her health battles, Menounos found an unexpected source of strength and coping mechanisms in her own podcast, “Heal Squad.” She candidly shared with Access Hollywood that applying the very tools she discussed on her show became instrumental in navigating her darkest moments. The mantra “choose wonder over worry” proved particularly impactful.
Menounos explained how this philosophy shifted her perspective:
- When she started applying techniques from “Heal Squad,” things became easier to handle.
- She observed situations unfolding as she “wondered” rather than “worried.”
- Ultimately, she credits the show with saving her life, echoing what her listeners had often told her.
The podcast, which offers new episodes Monday through Friday, is available on her YouTube channel and various podcast platforms, serving as a beacon of hope and practical advice for many, including its host.
Becoming the CEO of Your Health: A Mission for Early Detection
Her harrowing experiences have solidified Menounos’s mission to advocate for early detection and proactive health management. She has partnered with Cancerguard, a multi-cancer screening blood test, using her personal story to emphasize the critical importance of timely screenings. “Early detection and early screening is everything,” Menounos told Parade, adding, “I would not be here right now if it weren’t for that.”
Menounos now passionately advises everyone to “be the CEO of your journey.” Her recommendations for empowered healthcare include:
- Listening to your “spidey sense” if something feels off.
- Advocating fiercely for yourself in the medical system.
- Seeking second and even third opinions, especially before invasive procedures.
- Bringing a friend to appointments for additional support and advocacy.
She highlights the challenges within modern healthcare, noting that hospitals are businesses and the system can be overwhelmed, making personal vigilance even more crucial. Cancerguard, she explains, is not a replacement for routine screenings but a complementary tool that can detect aggressive cancers before symptoms manifest, providing an early warning system for next-level diagnostics like CT or PET scans.
A New Perspective on Life and Priorities
Surviving cancer has irrevocably altered Menounos’s perspective, shifting her priorities towards presence, peace, and her daughter, Athena. She now clearly differentiates between what is “real” and what is “important.” Every decision is filtered through the question: “Am I going to be happy that I chose to be away from Athena for this?”
Her philosophy is clear: “Your health is your wealth.” She has learned that material possessions pale in comparison to well-being when facing a life-threatening illness. Menounos is committed to living a “simpler and simpler and simpler life,” refusing to let “earthly stupid things” cause stress or detract from her newfound appreciation for life. Her journey stands as a powerful reminder that if early detection and self-advocacy could save her, it could save anyone.
