Television personality and journalist Maria Menounos stepped down from her position at E! News after coming forward about finding a brain tumor and having surgery.
According to People, Menounos first thought that she had an ear infection and then she began having issues with her vision, along with speaking. After getting an MRI, Menounos heard to schedule an appointment with a neurosurgeon right away. This was an extra strange occurrence because Menounos’ mother is currently battling stage 4 brain cancer.
On the Today Show, though Menounos has successfully undergone brain surgery and recovered, she admitted that she is still suffering side effects. She explained:
I still have a hard time chewing on my right side because it was on my right side and it affected the trigeminal nerve, which controls all of your face. And so chewing here, my jaw — it’s not right, now. Little things … I can get dizzy moving my head from side to side. Sometimes I can look like I’ve been in a car accident, so I just shift carefully.
And, though a lot has changed, Menounos maintains a positive outlook, saying that:
I feel so lucky to be functioning and to be almost normal and to not have cancer … For me having so much time and so much stillness, I’ve been able to look back and everything. And I did see this all as a gift and I did shift everything into positives throughout this whole journey. I think that’s really important. We’re all going to have really hard times in life. It’s how we respond, how we react, how we shift to see the good. Because out of every bad thing, something good comes if you see it — if you open your mind to it.
Menounos also has been posting motivational messages on her Instagram. For example, she recently wrote:
Thankful to be able to spread the word & encourage people to listen to their bodies & of course #braintumorawareness. I really believe that life is happening for me not to me and if you believe that you can get through most anything. Think about those who have it worse & by doing that your perspective shifts & a strength comes. To everyone out there fighting the fight -you are not alone. I will continue to fight for my mom & for everyone I can!
On June 8, 2017, which was her 39th birthday, Menounos endured a 7-hour surgery to remove a golf-ball-size meningioma brain tumor that had been pushing on her facial nerves. Menounos had 99.9 percent of her benign tumor removed, but her neurosurgeon Dr. Keith L. Black reportedly told her that there is still a 6 to 7 percent chance the tumor could return at some point, according to Page Six.
One thing that Menounos said helped her on her road to recovery after her surgery, was a quote from the movie Rocky. The quote reads:
It ain’t about how hard you hit, it’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward.
Menounos explained her Rocky motivation further to TMZ, saying:
That’s how winning’s done, so no matter what hits you in life, you gotta get up and you gotta find the positive and find the blessing in it. Even in the bleakest of things, there are blessings, and surround yourself with amazing people that will lift you up.
Judging Miss America 2018 is Menounos’ first major gig since recovering from her brain tumor surgery.