"Whenever I'm not feeling well, I'll feel my scar to remind me to slow down,'' Maria Menounos told Women's Health.
The 39-year-old former E! News Host has opened up about her life since she underwent a risky surgery to remove a brain tumor six months ago.
Nearly a year after her mother, Litsa, was diagnosed with a brain tumor, she found herself receiving a diagnosis that would change her life.
The overworked, overscheduled, self-described "superachiever" had to learn to slow down her life and know when to take it easy. That was not a simple task for someone who has only known two speeds: fast and faster.
"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. I didn't know it at the time, but there was no self-compassion, no self-love. I didn't think I deserved it. I was too busy being, like, 'Shit! I've got to get to my five o'clock appointment, then my seven o'clock, then feed the dogs, and, oh my god, I've got to wake up and do this and this... ' I had become a machine," she admitted.
The E! News host was diagnosed with a benign meningioma brain tumor .
Maria had the surgery to remove a brain tumor the size of a golf ball, but she is still feeling the after affects. The surgery couldn't have gone better, however. They were able to remove 99.9 percent of the tumor.
"After six days in the hospital, I came home. The love I got from people I've worked with and interviewed over the years was unreal. Then, with nothing to do but stay in bed, I had plenty of time to think," she said.
In an interview with Megyn Kelly, she admitted that her diagnosis was actually "a gift" and made it an intention to change certain parts of her life because of it.
Initially concern over her mother led her to put off her own health issues.
"Do you know how many times I postponed the MRI that found my tumor? At least three times!" she said. "Just a few months after we found my mom's brain cancer, I started having similar symptoms: blurred vision, light-headedness, headaches. I was having trouble speaking. But my mom's tumor was growing, and I thought, I don't have time to deal with my own issue, whatever it is."
Litsa was diagnosed with stage IV brain cancer and eight months later an MRI revealed that she also had a brain tumor.
Luckily, Litsa's condition has since stabilized, but for Maria, recovery has been frustratingly slow. It was just a few weeks after her surgery that she resigned from E! News.
Before the TV host made changes to her own life because her diagnosis, she altered how she reacted to things after her mom got sick.
"I started setting boundaries after my mom's diagnosis,'' she said. "One day I found myself telling her, 'Hold on, I can't talk right now. I've got to... ' Then I realized: I'm telling my mom, who has stage IV brain cancer, to hold on?! That's not okay. That's when I said, 'Things have to change. I'm going to spend time with her.' And I did."
After getting sick, she took it one step further.
In spite of being in the public eye, she decided to live less of her life online. When she went out she used a phone that only stored 10 numbers and didn't have text, email or internet capabilities.
She felt that this allowed her to be "much more present in life."
Throughout her entire ordeal, she had the support of her fiance Keven Undergaro.
"Keven's been my savior,'' she said. "He never left my side in the hospital. I was crying, 'I just want to get married! I want to have kids!' I've been pushing the wedding thing, but he said, 'Listen, I'm working on something.'''
The couple has been together nearly 18 years when the TV writer-producer proposed on The Howard Stern Show in March 2016.
We hope you're feeling better soon, Maria!
Source: Today / Women's Health Mag
