Maria Menounos says Sylvester Stallone inspired her to beat cancer.

The 39-year-old TV presenter had a benign tumour the size of a golf ball removed in June, and admits the actor's wise words in 2006 movie 'Rocky Balboa' helped pick her up following her diagnosis and "find the positive" in her terrible news.

Speaking to TMZ, she said: "He's very inspiring to both of us.

"It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done.

"So no matter what hits you in life, you've got to get up, you gotta find the positives and find the blessing in it. Even the bleakest of things, there are blessings.

"And surround yourself with amazing people that will lift you up."

The E! News co-anchor also admitted Snickers chocolate and ice cream bars helped her through, but Maria doesn't have any plans to return to work just yet, insisting she is "taking it slow".

The brunette beauty's mother Litsa has also been fighting stage four brain cancer, and Maria admitted she is in a "stable" condition.

She added: "I don't have cancer so I feel really lucky and my mom's stable and doing well right now so we're living in the moment. This moment is great."

Maria recently revealed she is "so much calmer" after undergoing life-saving surgery and sees things "differently" in life.

She said: "I just see things so differently now.

"It's funny. My family was like, 'Maria's so quiet.' And I'm just so much calmer. I think being still is so important - that's why meditation is so great for people, because it creates a little bit of stillness in their lives.

"For me having so much time and so much stillness, I've been able to look back and everything. And I did see this all as a gift and I did shift everything into positives throughout this whole journey. I think that's really important. We're all going to have really hard times in life. It's how we respond, how we react, how we shift to see the good."