Katie Couric has breast cancer.
The 65-year-old journalist revealed in an essay published Wednesday that she was diagnosed on June 21, 2022, which was also her eighth wedding anniversary to John Molner.
“I felt nauseous and the room started spinning,” Couric recalls the moment her breast radiologist, Dr. Susan Drossman, briefed her on the results of a mammogram she had delayed for six months.
“I was in the middle of an open office so I walked to a corner and spoke softly. My mouth couldn’t keep up with the questions spinning in my head,” she continued.
The former co-host of the show “Today” said she knew the feeling “all too well” as her first husband, Jay Monahan, and her sister Emily Couric died of colorectal and pancreatic cancer, respectively.
But Katie took comfort in knowing that her parents, John Martin Couric Jr. and Elinor Hene, as well as her current husband, Molner, had all beaten cancer.
However, the author of “Going There” was concerned about her and Monahan’s daughters, Ellie, 31, and Carrie, 26.
“They had already lost a parent. The idea of losing another was unfathomable,” she wrote.
Katie shared in her essay that she had two pre-operative procedures before undergoing a lumpectomy, also known as breast-conserving surgery, on July 14. She was able to forgo chemotherapy and underwent radiation from September 7 to 27.
“My left breast looks like I sunk topless, but otherwise I felt fine,” she wrote before urging other women to schedule their annual mammograms.
“I can’t tell you how many times during this experience I thanked God that it was 2022. And how many times I have silently thanked all the dedicated scientists who have done their best to develop better ways to analyze and treat breast cancer,” concluded Katie Couric Media founder, “But to reap the benefits of modern medicine, we need to stay on top of our screenings, advocate for ourselves, and make sure everyone has access to the diagnostic tools that can really change their lives.” to rescue.”