Inside Katie Couric's Cancer Diagnosis
Over the past year, Katie Couric has been more forthcoming than ever before. Her 2021 memoir "Going There" certainly lived up to its title — Couric touched on her feuds with peers Diane Sawyer, Deborah Norville, and more, shattering the sweet "Today" show image some may have had of her. The journalist also opened up about her personal struggles, which included an eating disorder, and touched on former coworker Matt Lauer's sexual harassment scandal. Of the people who thought she revealed too much, Couric told NPR, "My goal in life isn't to please people anymore ... I think if you're just likable, you're not very interesting." No matter how one feels about the contents of the book, it's hard to argue with that.
Despite the frank 500-plus pages making up "Going There," Couric's latest reveal is her deepest and most personal yet. On both her Instagram page and in an essay on her website, the TV anchor shared the story of her recent breast cancer diagnosis.
Katie Couric was diagnosed with breast cancer on her anniversary
In a new Instagram post, Katie Couric shared a photo of herself in a waiting room, wearing a white robe and face mask (seen above). She captioned the post with a harrowing statistic: "Every two minutes, a woman is diagnosed with breast cancer in the United States. On June 21st, I became one of them." Couric then encouraged her followers to get screened for breast cancer, saying they "may fall into a category of women who needs more than a mammogram."
Couric expanded on her diagnosis in a personal essay, sharing that the sad news coincided with her eighth wedding anniversary. She also revealed her family history of cancer: Her sister Emily died of pancreatic cancer at 54, and her first husband Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998. However, others were luckier: Couric's mother was diagnosed with mantle cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and her father had prostate cancer, but both were treated successfully. Reflecting on her family's health issues, she said, "Why would I be spared? My reaction went from 'Why me?' to 'Why not me?'"
In addition to her diagnosis, Couric also wrote about her treatment plan. She started receiving radiation in early September, and just finished her final round. The news icon credited music with helping her get through it, saying "Maybe I'll put my radiation playlist on Spotify." We'd love to see the songs that inspired her!