Katie Couric Promotes Early Detection

Former “Today Show” co-anchor Katie Couric’s recent breast cancer revelation is a stark reminder of the importance of early detection.

The former anchor shared her diagnosis and treatment story on the NBC program during breast cancer awareness month. Katie detailed how she was diagnosed on June 21, underwent surgery on July 14, and began radiation on Sept. 7.

Couric revealed, “I just feel super lucky that it was diagnosed when it was, that I went even though I was late, that I went when I did.”

The 65-year-old said doctors discovered a lump during a routine breast exam over the summer. Unaware of the news she would receive, the TV journalist planned to record the process for her followers. However, those plans were quickly foiled when her radiologist told her to put her phone away.

“I was like, ‘Uh-oh, what does that mean?’ and she said, ‘I think there’s something we really need to biopsy, and I want to do it today. So I thought, oh, my God! you must be kidding me. I found out the next days. She called me. I was pretty stunned. I think those words — ‘It’s cancerous’ or ‘You have cancer’ — do stop you in your tracks.” 

She felt less anxious after learning that the tumor had been found very early in the process.

The renowned TV journalist told the Today Show hosts and viewers, “But she told me it was treatable — we needed to have a plan. So I went from feeling shocked to not that shocked given my family’s history to relieved because my exposure to cancer with Jay and Emily and my mother-in-law … they were all advanced and the prognosis was really tough, so I felt so grateful, honestly.”

She reports feeling fine after undergoing a lumpectomy and radiation treatment. Now, she can count herself as one of the many women and men to overcome the disease because of early detection. She urged women to learn if they have dense breasts and how that impacts cancer detection and risk.

Couric advised, “I just really want women to get screened. Don’t put it off.”

The National Cancer Institute reported that nearly 50% of all women aged 40 and older have dense breasts, and many don’t know. Women with dense breasts have a higher risk of developing breast cancer and often need supplemental mammography screenings.

Early detection saves lives. According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate is 99% when breast cancer is detected early and is in the localized stage. In addition, women and men benefit from monthly breast self-exams, regular clinical breast exams, and mammograms.

For information on early detection, visit the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s website.