Maria Menounos

When she took care of her mother, who is suffering from stage 4 brain cancer, Maria learned that she was facing the health challenges on her own. In February 2014 Menounos started experiencing troubling symptoms. "I'd noticed that I was feeling lightheaded while on set, and was suffering from headaches," the actress tells PEOPLE in the magazine's new exclusive issue. "My speech became disorganized. Also, I had difficulty reading the screen." Menounos had been diagnosed as having a meningioma-size brain tumor. A MRI confirmed this. Menounos scheduled an appointment to consult her mom's neurosurgeon, Dr. Keith L. Black. The surgery was scheduled to take place on June 8, Menounos 39th birthday. "He stated, 'I'm 98 percent sure it's a benign tumor, but it will be determined once we're in the hospital the surgery,'" she says. Dr. Black managed to eliminate 99.9% of benign tumors through a surgery that took seven hours. She says that Dr. Black stated that it is likely to have the tumor come back in six-to seven percent of cases. It's a good thing I can accept these odds at any moment. Menounos she was admitted to the hospital for six days, is currently at home and is spending her time healing.