'I didn't cry. I actually laughed’: Maria Menounos, 39, reveals she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in June while her mom was battling stage 4 brain cancer - and announces her departure from E!

• Menounos started experiencing some of her mother's symptoms in February and went in for MRI, which revealed a golf-ball-sized tumor in her brain 
• On June 8, her 39th birthday, she underwent a seven-hour surgery to remove most of the growth, which turned out to have been benign 
• Menounos' neurosurgeon said there is a chance the tumor will return
• Her mother Litsa Menounos is battling a stage 4 brain cancer; her latest tests showed her tumor was stable 
• On Monday, Menounos announced she was leaving E! and E! News after three years
• The veteran TV personality, who is engaged, says she was to take time off and focus on 'passion projects'  

Maria Menounos announced on Monday she was leaving E! and E! News after revealing a recent health scare involving a golf-ball-sized tumor that was found in her brain.

Menounos, 39, broke the news regarding her departure from the entertainment network after three years in the anchor's chair on the same day People Magazine published an exclusive interview with her discussing her frightening diagnosis.

In an ironic twist, Menounos was caring for her mother, Litsa, who is battling a stage 4 brain cancer, when in February she started experiencing some of her mother's symptoms, including headaches and spells of light-headedness.

'My speech had gotten slurred and I was having difficulty reading the teleprompter,' the veteran TV and Sirius XM radio host tells People.

Alarmed, Menounos went in for an MRI test that revealed a meningioma brain tumor that was pushing on her facial nerves.

‘I didn’t cry. I actually laughed,’ she recalls her initial reaction. ‘It’s so surreal and crazy and unbelievable that my mom has a brain tumor, and now I have one too?’

On the day of her 39th birthday, June 8, Menounos underwent an intricate seven-hour surgery to remove most of the growth from her brain, which turned out to have been benign.

Menounos says her neurosurgeon Dr Keith L. Black, who also has been treating her mother, has warned her there is a 6-7 per cent chance the tumor will return in the future.

'But I'll take those odds any day,' she says.

MARIA'S EMOTIONAL MESSAGE

First I wanna say thank you all for the well wishes, prayers and support. It's been a crazy time here in our home. 

I want you all to know that I'm ok! Seriously I'm recovering well and should be as good as new very very soon! Luckily I don't need any further treatments but I can't say the same about my mom. 

So please keep her in your prayers. I also want to thank @people for allowing me to share my story. @juliejordanc & @mrjesscagle THANK YOU' Next-I need to thank everyone at @cedarssinai everyone there has been amazing. 

Most people want to rush out of the hospital to get home I kept saying I've never been treated kinder. I cried like a baby saying goodbye to the amazing nurses who took such good care of me. 

God bless nurses! 

I of course need to thank dr black and dr Chu for performing an amazing surgery and giving me the best bday gift ever-my health. And lastly, god has blessed me in so many ways but this too was a blessing. 

I got to hear what I have meant to my friends and family-it's been quite moving for me. 

I want thank all of my incredible friends, family and even strangers who have shown me and my family such kindness. @alyssawallerce Thank you for being with me every step of the way. I couldn't have done it without you. 

@iamjoegear You too! And to @undergaro the best nurse in the world..you never left the hospital and slept by my side there. you are my everything and I'm so thankful to you. 

You and dad have really been incredible to mom and me. You both have inspired me. I've never been more excited about life. I see so much so clearly. Will share more with all of you soon! Xo 

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Menounos was released from the hospital following a six-day stay and is currently recovering from the surgery at home with her fiance, Keven Undergaro. The couple got engaged in March 2016 after spending nearly two decades together.

‘I don’t have my balance fully yet but as long as I’m holding on to Keven, I’m sturdy and fine,’ she says.

Menounos says her face is still numb from the operation, but she is expected to make a full recovery within a month.

Meanwhile, she says her mother Litsa's latest MRI showed that the malignant tumor in her brain has not enlarged.

Menounos says she views her health crisis as blessing that has forced her to take a fresh look at her life.

On Monday, the E! News anchor and Dancing With The Stars alum put out a statement announcing her decision to part ways with the network.

‘I am so grateful for the past three years at E!,’ Menounos’ statement posted on E! Online reads. ‘I had such an amazing time co-hosting with Jason Kennedy and working everyday with the wonderful roster of talent on the show including producers, staff and crew. It was such a special, good-hearted group and one I'll always consider family.

‘I will truly miss everyone and looking forward to this next chapter in my life.’

Adam Stotsky, president of E! Entertainment, responded with his own statement expressing support for Menounos and her family.

‘We wish them all the best knowing that Maria will tackle this with the same fierce dedication she is known for,’ he said. ‘We are grateful for Maria's many contributions to E! over the past three years.’

Menounos joined E! in 2014 and was promoted to E! News anchor the following year, replacing Giuliana Rancic.

Since graduating from Emerson College in 2000, Menounos worked as a correspondent for Entertainment Tonight and Access Hollywood, hosted Extra for three years, co-founded the online entertainment network AfterBuzzTV with her fiance, wrestled as part a WWE tag team and competed on season 14 of Dancing With The Stars, coming in fourth with her partner Derek Hough.

In her exclusive interview with People Magazine, now on newsstands, Menounos says she plans to take some time off and focus on unspecified ‘passion projects.'

‘I've always been so proud of being a hard worker, but there's so much more out there,’ she tells the magazine. ‘I just want to be still for a bit and see what I'm supposed to be in this world.’