'Grateful' Maria Menounos Says She 'Wouldn't Have Met My Daughter' If She Didn't Get Additional Screening Before Cancer Battle

Maria Menounos is "grateful" to be here after she was diagnosed with pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor (PNET), a rare type of pancreatic cancer, in January 2023.

After a hospital visit where a CT scan looked fine, the host, who also had a benign brain tumor removed in 2017, said the tumor on her pancreas doubled in size within two months.

"If I hadn't done additional screening, I wouldn't know I had this cancer, and I probably wouldn't be here right now. I wouldn't have met my daughter. It was that serious," the TV host, 47, exclusively tells OK! while spotlighting Cancerguard by Exact Sciences (the makers of Cologuard), a new multi-cancer early detection blood test that helps detect cancer, including aggressive and hard-to-find types, before symptoms appear. "I want to help people be the CEO of their health and empower them to take their health into the highest considerations — and to really realize you have to be in charge of your own ship. There's only a few cancers that are routinely screened for, the rest are kind of just up in the air and a lot of them come with no symptoms. Nearly 70 percent of cancers, including many of the deadliest like pancreatic, esophageal and ovarian, have no recommended screening options, leaving millions at risk of late-stage detection when treatment is often less effective."

The "Heal Squad" podcast host, who shares daughter Athena with her husband, Keven Undergaro, says she needs to be "here" for all of her little one's milestones. "My north star is my daughter," she gushes. "I need to be healthy and able and strong, so every day when I pray, I'm like, 'God, please help me to live as long as humanely possible so I can be with her.' I want to see her through all the fun things and be healthy and strong for her."

The brunette beauty is soaking in all this time with her tot, especially since she and her hubby went through ups and downs before welcoming their first child via surrogate in 2023.

"It's crazy. Everyone keeps saying they grow so fast, and it's so true!" she says. "I looked at her the other day and was like, 'You are so tall.' It's the most magical thing in the world, and I would've never known just how magical it is — and I don't think anyone will ever know unless they do it. Maybe it's also because of everything I've gone through, but I feel like it's a whole new chapter in my life, where I am so happy. I'm so grateful that I've been very present and I've been able to be with her a lot. We're playing and running, and she's learning to be the CEO of her health, too. She's grounding. She'll take her shoes off and be like, 'Let's ground, mommy.' She'll do her yoga stretches and poses and eat healthy."

It's also been beautiful for the mom-of-one to witness her father, Constantinos Menounos, bond with her daughter, especially since her mother, Litsa Menounos, died in 2021 after a long battle with brain cancer.

"We had some of her little friends over from church, and they were all running in the yard, and I had this video of her and my dad running and holding hands. I saw all these kids playing and yelling, and it was so much fun. Before I had the surgery, and even after my surgery, I would visualize what I wanted rather than what I didn't want because it was so easy to catastrophize. You have pancreatic cancer and a baby on the way, and you're like, 'Wait, this is awful,' but once I got out of that, I went into what I wanted. I would visualize her running with my dad hand in hand in the grass and her and I playing and laughing. I was in my backyard, and it was happening as I had seen it. I was crying and was like, 'This is the greatest day of my life.' When you've gone through the things I went through between my mom, my dad almost dying all the time, etc., I understand how precious life is. I know the secret a lot of people don't know," she shares. "Nothing else matters. Your health and well-being of your loved ones and those beautiful moments are magical. That is what life is about."

"I'm so grateful that God gave me these moments that were terrifying, scary and hard because he also gave me strength, endurance and resilience. I've been able to get through them, and I can help people on the other side. I also can appreciate this moment with my daughter because if I had her before all of this, I feel like I'd be working a lot," she says. "I am grateful I get to be with her all the time."

Since health is so important to the star, it makes sense she wanted to partner with Cancerguard by Exact Sciences (the makers of Cologuard) to dish on how their blood test for cancer works. It helps detect 50+ cancer types and subtypes, including six of the deadliest types of cancer, and you an get peace of mind with one blood draw, results delivered and actionable next steps with care navigation.

"It's important to stack the deck and know you're going to do your routine screenings," she says. "Cancer is scary, and you have this incredible innovative test that with a simple blood draw, can detect cancer signals from more than 50 cancer types and subtypes, and you can get a jump on your care if that happens to be a positive result. If it's a negative result, you are great, but you still have to do your routine screenings anyway. We need to advocate for ourselves, which is what I do every day with my podcast, 'Heal Squad.' It's my mission and passion, which is why I love working with Cancerguard. They have a lot of experience. If you're between the ages of 50 and 84, this is a great test to ask your doctor about and add in."

The wellness guru also says everyone should get enough sleep and listen to their body. "Don't think it is just stress. Make sure you're talking to your dotor about your screenings. That is the most important thing," she advises.