Maria Menounos is continuing to open up about her brain tumor diagnosis.
Menounos revealed she felt frustrated after her mother’s stage IV brain cancer diagnosis and tried to reckon with a higher power as she watched her mother’s battle.
"I was getting really frustrated because she wasn't fighting and she was doing worse," Menounos said of her mother in an interview on "Sunday Night With Megyn Kelly." "I just remember praying and just saying, 'God, I wish you gave this to me because I have the fight and I have the will to beat this stuff. She doesn't.' And, uh, be careful what you wish for."
Shortly after her mother, Litsa Menounos underwent surgery, Menounos said she started experiencing headaches and dizziness and had a difficult time reading the teleprompters at work. When she realized she was having symptoms similar to her mother, she made an appointment with her doctor.
"He said, 'I'm so sorry I have to tell you this because I know that you're going through a lot with your mom, but you have a brain tumor. It's called a meningioma, and you need to schedule an appointment with a neurosurgeon right away,'" Menounos said. "And so, I was like, 'OK.' I started kind of chuckling because at that point it's like, 'This is a joke. How does this happen?'"
Menounos kept the diagnosis a secret from friends and family, not telling them until three days before her own surgery.
“It’s like you’re getting a punch in the face, or a hammer,” Litsa Menounos said of her reaction. “You cannot process that. That was the worst thing for me. [My cancer] didn’t matter, honestly.”
Menounos’ tumor was benign and now that she is back on her feet, the mother and daughter are focused on Litsa’s health.
"I just hope that we can make her one of the long-term survivors because I'm worried about her," Menounos said through tears. "Nobody ever wants to lose their mom. I pray this next MRI is good so that we can all just take a breath, and I have some time to not worry."
About the Author
