CBS News' Norah O'Donnell Goes Without Makeup From Hospital Bed To Share Health Update
CBS News' Norah O'Donnell usually faces the public after spending a few minutes in a makeup chair, but she just bared her unmade face for a very important reason. On May 20, 2026, O'Donnell posted a head-turning, unfiltered photo of herself from a hospital bed to remind her fans of the importance of colonoscopies. "Not exactly a glamorous post... but an important one," she wrote on Instagram. "I got a colonoscopy — and I'm so glad I did," she continued, adding, "Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in the United States, and cases are rising, even in younger adults."
O'Donnell spent the rest of the post urging her followers to schedule their own colonoscopy, which is the only way to catch colorectal cancer in the early stages. According to the American Cancer Society, Stage 0 cancer is usually treated through surgery alone, sometimes during the colonoscopy itself. However, treatment gets more complicated and aggressive as the cancer progresses towards Stage 4, which has a significantly higher mortality rate.
There are about 109,000 new cases of colon cancer (and roughly 50,000 new cases of rectal cancer) in the United States each year. Given these stats, it's great that the CBS correspondent is using her Instagram platform, which reaches 285,000 fans, to raise awareness about ways to catch and treat such a serious health issue. However, it's not like she hasn't been doing this for years.
Norah O'Donnell is passionate about health advocacy
There's no instruction manual for reacting to a health crisis, especially when you're in the public eye. Some celebs decide to hide their cancer diagnoses, while others use them as teachable moments. The latter is the path that Norah O'Donnell, who has faced her own tragedies, took after receiving a melanoma diagnosis.
In May 2017, O'Donnell opened up to People about the time her dermatologist urged her to get a biopsy after a routine checkup. "My family and I were in Washington, D.C., for the holiday when I received an urgent email from Dr. Hale," she told the outlet. "She said that the biopsy came back and that she wanted to speak with me immediately." Her doctor immediately reassured her that the cancer was curable, but instructed her to get her moles surgically removed as soon as possible. "They make a big cut to make sure there's nothing else around it and not becoming invasive," she explained.
Fortunately, O'Donnell's doctor was able to remove her melanoma, and to date, she hasn't spoken about having any kind of resurgence. Understandably, her unexpected brush with cancer changed her perspective on health care. "We need to completely rethink our entire approach to health and health care," she told Medline Magazine in 2019. "There's nothing more important than our health. Why don't we spend more time learning about healthy choices and disease prevention?" She continued, "I'm hoping to begin a national conversation about how much time we dedicate to healthy living. As my mom reminds me, 'Your health is your wealth.'"