Katie Couric has been diagnosed with breast cancer. The 65 year old opened up about her health battle, while urging women to get their mammograms and a personal essay on her website.
After revealing on Instagram that she has breast cancer: “Every two minutes. A woman is diagnosed within the United States. On June 21st. I became one of them.”
She wrote on the social media platform alongside a photo of herself in the hospital. The legendary journalist went on to further explain in her essay that she was “six months late to her annual mammogram this year and found out about her diagnosis in June. On the date of her 8th wedding anniversary”.
“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”, Katie shared.
The former Today anchor reflected on her own diagnosis following her family history with cancer.
Her first husband Jay died from colon cancer at 42 and her sister passed away at 54 from pancreatic cancer and her mother and father also had a history with cancer.
“My mood quickly shifted from disbelief to resignation, given my family’s history of cancer, why would I be spared? My reaction went from why me to why not me”. Katie also recalled telling her two daughters, Ellie and Carrie about her illness, noting that they were also in shock and disbelief.
The book author underwent a lipsectomy in July, and doctors removed a tumor that was “2 centimeters, roughly the size of an olive”.
She noted that the pathology results came back as showing that her cancer was stage 1A and was told that the likelihood of the cancer returning was “considered low enough to forego chemotherapy”.
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