Katie Couric Reveals Tragic Health Diagnosis Decades After Husband, Sister's Battle Against Dreaded Disease
Katie Couric, who has been supporting cancer research for over two decades, revealed that she has also been diagnosed with the dreaded disease.
After losing her husband and sister to cancer, Couric must face her battle after learning that she also has the same disease. The former "Today" co-host spoke about her diagnosis on Wednesday through an Instagram post, saying that she has breast cancer.
She revealed that she was diagnosed in June, becoming the latest member to face the dreaded condition after her husband, Jay, was diagnosed with colon cancer , and her sister, Emily, with pancreatic cancer.
Couric shared in-depth details of her health through an essay on her website titled "Why NOT Me?"
"I had practically become an expert on colon and pancreatic cancers, but no one in my family had ever had breast cancer. During that 24-hour whirlwind, I found out that 85 percent of the 264,000 American women who are diagnosed every year in this country have no family history. I clearly had a lot to learn," she acknowledges.
Couric reminded everyone to get their annual mammogram and undergo additional screening if needed.
According to the journalist, she learned about her cancer after a mammogram and a breast sonogram. Unfortunately, the biopsy came back positive.
Aside from her husband and sister, her parents reportedly suffered the dreaded illness, as well. Her father reportedly had prostate cancer, while her mother suffered from non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Katie Couric on Trying To Survive Cancer
On July 14, Couric underwent a lumpectomy, allowing her doctors to remove the 2.5 cm tumor.
The pathology results classified her cancer as stage 1A. Fortunately, she learned that cancer would be highly unlikely to return and could forgo chemotherapy.
Although she needs to focus on herself now, Couric chose to help other people and decided to use her experience to teach other people about breast cancer.
She famously co-founded Stand Up 2 Cancer, the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, and the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health. She dedicated more than two decades of her life while working on her Stand Up To Cancer initiative.
On top of these, Couric has Mission to Screen campaign to urge people to get screened for colon cancer.
