Four months after having a tumor removed from her brain, Maria Menounos is looking on the bright side.
"This whole thing has been such a gift," the 39-year-old TV presenter recently told Women's Health Magazine. "This happened for a reason."
Menounos said the ordeal has changed her outlook on life, and she regularly rubs the scar on her head to remind her to take it easy.
“Before the brain tumor, I was super type A. I was on top of everything. I would know when your birthday was and make sure you had your flowers. I was everything to everyone, but nothing to myself,” Menounos, who was diagnosed in February 2017, said. “I didn’t know it at the time, but there was no self-compassion, no self-love. I didn’t think I deserved it.”
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She believes that she was so worried about those around her — particularly her mother, who also had a brain tumor — that she never took time to look after herself, which is why she didn’t notice her own symptoms initially.
“Do you know how many times I postponed the MRI that found my tumor? At least three times!” Menounos said. “ … But my mom’s tumor was growing, and I thought, ‘I don’t have time to deal with my own issue, whatever it is.’ We’re so empathetic with everyone except ourselves.”
Menounos also confessed that the toughest part of the whole situation was having to break the news to others.
“The only time I cried was when I told people,” she said.
“Would you believe me if I told you that the brain tumor is the best thing that ever happened to me?” she claimed. “It’s freed me from all of that anxiety of having to be perfect. You can’t control everything; leave it to God and just say, ‘OK, this is my journey.’”
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