Maria Menounos knew something was off in her body.
It was 2023 and the TV host and journalist had severe abdominal pain and relentless bloating. She got a colonoscopy, endoscopy, and CT scan, but her medical team still couldn’t find the problem—and her symptoms persisted.
A full-body MRI identified the source of her pain: a mass on her pancreas, later confirmed by her doctor to be a Stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor, a rare form of pancreatic cancer.
“Outside screening is what saved my life,” Menounos said in a discussion earlier this month with Tom Beer, MD, practicing oncologist and chief medical officer in multi-cancer early detection at Exact Sciences.
That’s why she’s partnering with Cancerguard, a new prescription blood test from Exact Sciences (the makers of Cologuard) designed to detect more than 50 cancer types and subtypes, including pancreatic, ovarian, and liver cancers.
“I am so passionate about outside screening because I realize how important it is to stack the deck,” said Menounos. “Some of these cancers are really evil—they don’t have symptoms.”
Now cancer-free—and missing part of her pancreas, her entire spleen, 17 lymph nodes, and a large fibroid following surgery—Menounos advocates for everyone to be the “CEO” of their own health. That means keeping up with appointments and regular screenings, and getting answers to your health questions—all while focusing on the positive.
“If you have a pain, and it persists, you have to as well,” she said, adding that she often “envisions [herself] celebrating after” stressful scans and tests.
Menounos still practices what she preaches—and even extends that advice to her own daughter, teaching her to value and advocate for her health. (The 2-year-old loves nutritious food and always asks to join morning stretches, she said).
Her main goal now, two years out from her cancer diagnosis? Living her healthiest and most positive life—and being there for her daughter “for every milestone, every moment.”
