Katie Couric Reveals Devastating Cancer Diagnosis: "I Felt Sick and the Room Started to Spin"
Katie Couric has announced in a personal essay that she has received a diagnosis of breast cancer.
This past May, her doctor reminded her she was due for a mammogram. Couric felt as if she’d just had one. She knows the importance of keeping up with preventative screening, especially since losing her husband, Jay, to colon cancer in 1998.
Her doctor reminded her that her last mammogram had been in December of 2020, so Couric scheduled one for June. Concerned about an area that might just have been scar tissue, her doctor then followed up with a biopsy.
That’s when Couric received the text we all dread.
“A text came in: ‘Please call me in the office to discuss biopsy results. I tried calling you on your cell. Your mailbox is full.'”
Couric went on to say, “When I called back, Dr. Drossman picked up right away. ‘Your biopsy came back. It’s cancer. You’re going to be fine but we need to make a plan.'” The news sent Couric for a spin.
“I felt sick and the room started to spin. I was in the middle of an open office, so I walked to a corner and spoke quietly, my mouth unable to keep up with the questions swirling in my head.”
Couric stated on her Facebook page that she feels it’s important she share her story because “every 30 seconds, someone in the U.S. is diagnosed with cancer.”
Katie is so committed to getting out the word, she has shared her story on all her social media and had even invited her crew to record her visit to get her mammogram.
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Thankfully, according to People, “Couric had a lumpectomy on July 14, doctors removing a tumor she wrote was ‘2.5 centimeters, roughly the size of an olive.’ Pathology results came back as showing that her cancer was stage 1A. She also learned that the likelihood of the cancer returning was ‘considered low enough to forgo chemotherapy.'”
NBC News, where Katie was once co-anchor of the Today Show, reports that Katie is encouraging every woman to be sure to get her annual mammogram.
“I was six months late this time. I shudder to think what might have happened if I had put it off longer. But just as importantly, please find out if you need additional screening.”
