Journalist Katie Couric announced Wednesday that she was diagnosed with breast cancer in June and urged fans to get tested frequently.
The 65-year-old news anchor made the announcement on Instagram, writing, “Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. On June 21st, I became one of them. As we approach #BreastCancerAwarenessMonth, I wanted to share my personal story with you all and encourage you to get screened and understand that you may fall into a category of women who needs more than a mammogram.”
She then directed followers to her website for a more detailed account of what happened and why she’s glad to not have put off screening. Couric’s essay was titled “Why NOT Me.”
“June 21, 2022, was the first day of summer, my 8th wedding anniversary, and the day I found out I had breast cancer,” the news anchor began.
She explained that her gynecologist reminded her she was overdue for a mammogram. The “60 Minutes” correspondent lost her first husband Jay Monahan to colon cancer in 1998 and has had several other members of her family get their own cancer diagnoses, which made her very aware of the risks. But she was still blindsided when she got the mammogram results.
“I felt sick and the room started to spin. I was in the middle of an open office, so I walked to a corner and spoke quietly, my mouth unable to keep up with the questions swirling in my head,” she wrote of finding out the news.
“The heart-stopping, suspended animation feeling I remember all too well came flooding back: Jay’s colon cancer diagnosis at 41 and the terrifying, gutting nine months that followed,” Couric continued.
“My sister Emily’s pancreatic cancer, which would later kill her at 54, just as her political career was really taking off. My mother-in-law Carol’s ovarian cancer, which she was fighting as she buried her son, a year and nine months before she herself was laid to rest.”
Couric went on to explain that she had surgery in July to remove a tumor which was “2.5 centimeters, roughly the size of an olive” and began radiation, which she said ended Tuesday. Now she’s hoping to spread the message to keep up with regular checkups.
“Please get your annual mammogram. I was six months late this time,” Couric concluded. “I shudder to think what might have happened if I had put it off longer. But just as importantly, please find out if you need additional screening. Forty-five percent of women in this country (yes, nearly half) have dense breasts, which can make it difficult for mammograms alone to detect abnormalities.”
