Entertainment journalist Maria Menounos announced Monday that she is stepping down from her position as co-anchor of E! News after she was diagnosed with a benign brain tumor, according to multiple reports.
In a statement, Menounos said she was grateful for her time at E! and that she is “looking forward to this next chapter in my life.”
Menounos told People magazine that she started dealing with headaches and bouts of lightheadedness in February, and an MRI showed that she had "a golf-ball-size meningioma brain tumor that was pushing on her facial nerves."
Menounos’ mother has Stage 4 brain cancer.
“I didn’t cry. I actually laughed,” she told People magazine. “It’s so surreal and crazy and unbelievable that my mom has a brain tumor — and now I have one too?”
She underwent a seven-hour surgery June 8, her 39th birthday, and continues to recover, according to People magazine.
“Our thoughts and support go out to Maria and her family and we wish them all the best, knowing that Maria will tackle this with the same fierce dedication she is known for,” Adam Stotsky, president of E! Entertainment, said Monday in a statement.
In an Instagram post Monday morning, Menounos thanks doctors, nurses, family and friends for their help and support in the last few months.
“I want you all to know that I’m OK,” Menounos wrote. “Seriously, I’m recovering well and should be as good as new very, very soon.”
She asked for prayers for her mother.
“Luckily I don’t need any further treatments, but I can’t say the same about my mom,” she wrote.
Menounos joined the E! Entertainment in 2014 and became co-anchor of the cable network's entertainment news show in 2015. She was a contestant in 2012 on "Dancing with the Stars," finishing in fourth place beside dancer and actor Derek Hough.
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