The Incredible Importance of Colon Cancer Screenings
- Katie Couric was “heartbroken” over the passing of actress Kirstie Alley to colon cancer the same disease that took the life of her first husband.
- Alley died in 2022, at 71, not too long after being diagnosed. Couric said her story highlights the incredible importance of not skipping screenings for the disease.
- The recommended age to begin colon cancer screening is 45. But research shows a concerning trend of more and more young people being diagnosed with the disease.
- Over the years, Couric has continuously raised awareness for various cancers and encouraged people to prioritize screenings for both colon cancer and breast cancer, which she was diagnosed with in June 2022.
“I was heartbroken to hear it, and of course wondered if she had been screened,” 66-year-old Couric told People, expressing her sadness over Alley’s passing from the same cancer that took her husband. “And I think it just highlights the importance of getting screened when you’re 45, and following your doctor’s recommendations in terms of how often you should be screened.
Read More“I think anyone we lose before their time from a preventable disease is a tragedy,” Couric added. “And that’s what I always wonder when I see someone who’s died of colorectal cancer. I wonder, ‘Gosh, if they had been screened or if they were screened, and did this really have to happen?'”View this post on Instagram
"You Shouldn't Die From Embarrassment": Colon Cancer Can Be Prevented
Couric went on to stress the importance of keeping an eye out for colon cancer symptoms no matter your age. The most common sign of colon cancer is a change in bowel habits, says Dr. Paul Oberstein, medical oncologist and assistant director of the Pancreatic Cancer Center at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center. He told SurvivorNet that could range from constipation or diarrhea to changes in the size or shape of bowel movements. You could also notice a change in stool color, particularly black or tarry stools, which can indicate bleeding from a tumor deep in the colon.
Meanwhile, the recommended age to begin screening age is 45. However, research is pointing to a concerning trend of more younger people being diagnosed with colorectal cancer (cancer that begins in the colon or rectum). Couric’s husband died at 42, and actor Chadwick Boseman died of colon cancer at 43 in 2020.
“Chadwick is one of the people who I think his death has really highlighted the fact that more and more young people were dying of this disease, because when he was diagnosed, it was way before the recommended age for screening,” Couric said. “Similarly, with Jay, my husband, he was diagnosed at 41.
“And I often think if he had been screened at, gosh, even 40 or even 39 or 38, could we [have] found this? And, with a simple procedure or with a colonoscopy, saved his life? So it just doesn’t have to happen,” Couric said.
Katie Couric's Journey With Cancer
Couric’s introduction to cancer started long before her own battle with the disease. Her mother fought mantle cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (a cancer of the white blood cells) that was "kept at bay for a decade," her father had prostate cancer that was successfully treated, her mother -in-law died of ovarian cancer, her sister Emily died of pancreatic cancer at 54, and first husband Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998. Even still, her current husband, John Molner, 59, had a scare when a coconut-sized tumor removed from his liver in 2014. Molner is, thankfully, still cancer-free today.
"Given my family's history of cancer, why would I be spared?" she said in an essay on her personal website, explaining her desire to turn her experiences into opportunities for awareness and change. "My reaction went from 'Why me?' to 'Why not me?’"
Couric shared she was diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2022 via the above essay.
"June 21, 2022, was the first day of summer, my 8th wedding anniversary, and the day I found out I had breast cancer," the essay title reads.
Couric was overdue for a mammogram before her diagnosis. Much to her shock, her doctor informed her she hadn’t had a mammogram since December 2020.
RELATED: Check Out The Brave History Of Cancer Advocacy From Breast Cancer Warrior Katie Couric, 65
"I'm normally vigilant, bordering on neurotic, about taking care of my health, especially after my husband Jay died of colon cancer in 1998," she wrote. "Had the pandemic given me a skewed sense of time? Had it messed with my memory?"
When You're Getting a Mammogram, Ask About Dense Breasts
Because her breasts are dense, Couric routinely undergoes additional screening using a breast ultrasound. After a 3D mammogram, a breast ultrasound and a biopsy, Couric received her diagnosis: stage 1A, hormone receptor-positive, Her2neu-negative breast cancer.
For treatment, she’s already had a lumpectomy and radiation, but she'll need five years of an aromatase inhibitor.
RELATED: 5 Critical Lessons From Katie Couric's Breast Cancer Announcement
An aromatase inhibitor is a drug used to block the activity of the aromatase enzyme and, therefore, stop the body from producing the hormone estrogen.
"The way it works is that it's used only in women who are post-menopausal so their ovaries are shut down or asleep but there's still a little bit of hormone made in the body by an enzyme called aromatase," Dr. Erica Mayer, a medical oncologist and a clinical investigator in the Breast Oncology Center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, previously told SurvivorNet. "The aromatase inhibitor shuts down that enzyme so it takes the hormone level in the body as close down to zero as we can."
Katie Couric's cancer is hormone receptor-positive. That means it uses estrogen, progesterone or both to grow and replicate hence why an aromatase inhibitor is effective.
Hormone Therapies for Breast Cancer: Aromatase Inhibitor
We don't know exactly what kind of aromatase inhibitor Couric is taking, but examples of these drugs include: anastrozole (Arimidex), letrozole (Femara) and exemestane (Aromasin). All of these drugs come in the form of a daily pill. Lots of women don't experience any side effects of these drugs, but some may have hot flashes, joint stiffness or achiness.
Katie Couric’s Cancer Advocacy
Given that she’s been touched by cancer in so many ways over the years, her dedication to raising cancer awareness should come as no surprise.
Most recently, she teamed up with the Cologuard Classic, a golf tournament using their platform to share the stories of over 150 colon cancer patients, survivors and caregivers. Her goal was to spread awareness of colon cancer, urge others to prioritize screenings and remind people that “early detection is everything.”
“It’s one of the few cancers that you can nip in the bud,” she told People. “And if you have a polyp (a growth of tissue in the colon), it can be removed. Even if it’s cancerous and hasn’t penetrated the colon wall and gone into the lymph nodes, it can be cured quite easily,” she added, referencing the 91% survival rate for colon cancer that’s diagnosed in a localized stage, or early stage when it has not spread.
In addition, her ongoing battle with breast cancer has served as a vessel for her to educate others about that disease, but her didactic efforts began long before.
Going all the way back to 2000, Couric chose to air her colonoscopy on the “Today” show to encourage people to prioritize the important colon cancer screening method.
"After that segment, the number of people getting colonoscopies increased by 20 percent," she wrote in her recent essay.
That same year, she co-founded the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, which was later integrated into Stand Up to Cancer another organization co-founded by Couric.
"SU2C dramatically accelerates the rate of new discoveries by connecting top scientists in unprecedented collaborations to create breakthroughs," the organization's website reads. "SU2C innovations lead to better cancer prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, which means that we can help more people diagnosed with cancer become long-term survivors."
In one of her older essays, Couric explained that Stand Up To Cancer grew out of grief.
"In 2007, nine Type A women who had seen the ravages of cancer firsthand decided to join forces," Couric wrote. "We were frustrated. Many of us had lost loved ones; my husband Jay died of colon cancer in 1998, and my sister Emily lost her battle with pancreatic cancer in 2001.
"Others, like Hollywood producer Laura Ziskin, were fighting the disease in her case, breast cancer, which took her life in 2011. There's a former studio head, Sherry Lansing, and marketing whizzes, non-profit experts and PR mavens in the mix. We knew it wouldn't be easy, starting from scratch, but we just didn't see the current paradigm of cancer research working well enough or fast enough for all the patients desperate for science to deliver answers."
According to Katie Couric Media, SU2C scientists have contributed to the development of nine new FDA cancer-fighting drugs and raised more than 746 million dollars as of 2021.
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