While you may know Katie Couric as the powerhouse of broadcast news and the anchor who helped grow the TODAY show to national popularity, she hopes to leave an even richer legacy.
Couric, who has since launched a news and production company, has been outspoken about the importance of knowing your cancer risk and getting routine and early screenings. She is far from immune to the life-changing realities of cancer, having battled it herself and watched a loved one suffer from it.
In 1998, she lost her husband Jay Monahan, who, as a physically fit and healthy 41-year-old, was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
“I always think the worst words in the English language when it comes to this disease are these two words, ‘if only,’” she says. “I don’t want people to say that. I want them to say, ‘Thank God I got screened.’”
She tells Fortune she felt like a “sponge” after losing her husband and that during his sickness, she “practically got a Ph.D. in colorectal cancer.”
“I think nothing is as motivating as desperation and fear when someone you love is diagnosed with a terminal illness,” Couric tells Fortune in a video interview. “Suddenly, I was a single mother and missed my husband terribly.”
Colorectal cancer and women
In a recent panel at SXSW in Austin earlier this month, Couric spoke about the rise in colorectal cancer. In particular, she hopes women better understand their risks. The risk of developing colorectal cancer is 1 in 23 for men and 1 in 25 for women, according to the American Cancer Society.
“Women, especially younger women, believe this is an old man’s disease, and that’s simply not true,” she says. “Women are diagnosed with colorectal cancer as often as men. I think sometimes people get colons and prostates confused.”
Less than half—44%—of Gen X women have gotten screened for colon cancer, and yet, “they are right in the sweet spot,” Couric says. And 43% of young women believe colon cancer is a men’s disease, of which nearly half think men are impacted two to three times as much as women, which is not correct, according to Medtronic, a health care technology company implementing AI in screening protocols.
Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the U.S., and over 50,000 people are estimated to die from the diagnosis in 2024. But unlike other cancers, colorectal cancer can be prevented with routine screening and treatable when found early.
Education is critical, Couric says, as more young people are being diagnosed and dying from colorectal cancer. For those under age 55, deaths from colorectal cancer have increased by 1% every year since 2000. People under 50 make up 10% of colorectal cancer diagnoses in the U.S., and the American Cancer Society recommends people start getting screened at age 45.
Current screenings include a colonoscopy or stool-based test. New research suggests a blood test could detect colon cancer with 83% accuracy and offer a less invasive testing option. Although not cleared by the Food and Drug Administration, it’s a hopeful addition to the scene. Couric says while she doesn’t think the blood test is ready for “prime time,” she hopes people get tested, period.
“The best test is the one that gets done,” says Couric, who has undergone a colonoscopy on national television to underscore the importance of routine screenings. “For now, people need to just grow up and get their butts to the doctor. If you don’t have your health, you don’t have anything. I think people sometimes take their health for granted.”
Symptoms of colorectal cancer include bloating, unexplained weight loss, rectal bleeding, and fatigue, and people who are at risk for the diagnosis—such as those with a family history of cancer or an inflammatory bowel disease—should get tested earlier and more frequently. “People need to be aware of the symptoms and advocate for themselves,” Couric says.
Couric also lost her sister to pancreatic cancer, and in 2022, she announced she had developed stage 1A breast cancer after missing her routine mammogram. “Please get your annual mammogram. I was six months late this time. I shudder to think what might have happened if I had put it off longer,” Couric wrote in a post, who has since been treated for it. Couric’s advocacy and awareness have her functioning as a personal health journalist for the public. Many people have stopped her to share that they are getting screened more regularly because of her and that it has saved their lives.
“I feel so strongly that this is a cancer that can be prevented and treated if it’s detected early,” she says about colorectal cancer. “I want people to know that, and I’ll keep talking about it until my last breath.”
