Maria Menounos Says Sharing Her 'Difficult' Health Struggles Is Her Life's 'Mission': 'I Was Put on This Path for a Reason'

Maria Menounos is using her own health battles to help others overcome their own.

The television host let the world in on her journey through surviving cancer and is now an advocate for people facing the same hurdles.

Menounos speaks exclusively with OK! about why she's been open about her personal obstacles, prioritizing wellness, using her career to make a difference and her upcoming Heal Squad Day of Reset on Cape Cod.

In 2023, Menounos was diagnosed with stage II pancreatic cancer, only six years after she underwent surgery to remove a meningioma.

"It was definitely difficult," she admits of that time period. "The brain tumor was so scary because you're thinking like, 'Is anyone going to hire me again?' But it's really hard for me not to share, even though I'm a private person. I'm talking with people all the time about it."

Despite her reservations, the journalist knows others will benefit from her vulnerability. "I'm so grateful because I would not be on my mission if it weren't for all of this," she says. "I was put on this path for a reason. I'm going to do everything I can to share everything with everyone."

With a successful career in Hollywood and as a mother and wife, Menounos knows that putting yourself first can be difficult.

"Unfortunately, [prioritizing wellness] was out of necessity," she says. "It's what I'm trying to help people avoid. I want people to live a healthier lifestyle, so nothing hits you. Therefore, you don't have to learn the hard way. But it's really just about making small choices that will hopefully add up over time. Our health is an accumulation of our choices. If we can be aware of that and make adjustments accordingly, hopefully you won't have to learn the hard way, as I did."

Now, Menounos has been put in a position to use her resources to help others.

"It's been three decades of interviewing people and doing it at the highest of levels," she says. "It wasn't that I was always in good health, but I was always exposed to doctors and was interviewing them. I've been around the best of the best. I know who moves the needle. I know when someone needs help. I usually know who can make a difference instantly. I love the idea that I can help bring people to their healing by connecting them with the people who are gifted and who will make changes for them."

On May 16, Menounos will host her Heal Squad Day of Reset at the Red Jacket Beach Resort in her home state of Massachusetts. Guests will partake in a one-day immersive wellness experience, designed to help women reconnect with their bodies, reset their nervous systems and put themselves first.

"I did this event in Canyon Ranch in August, and it was incredible," she gushes. "But I know that it's really hard for people to be able to take days off of work. The first one was a four-day, three-night thing. I wanted to do a day for people that was more accessible and easier in all ways. I wanted to do it at home."