Katie Couric talks about her breast cancer diagnosis
Katie Couric has revealed that she was diagnosed with breast cancer on their 8th wedding anniversary.
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Katie Couric is getting older and enjoying the joy of becoming a grandmother. She just wants her late husband, Jay Monaghan, to experience that too.
“He missed watching his daughters grow up. He missed watching Ellie get married. He missed Carrie, who was Phi Beta Kappa at Stanford University. He would be very proud of them both,” Couric told USA TODAY. “When you lose someone like that, you’re so grateful to be there for every chapter of their life, and I think there’s actually more than one chapter to be grateful for and enjoy.”
Couric was hosting the “Today” show in 1998 when Monaghan died at age 42. The whole country mourned her death, as well as her two young daughters, Ellie and Carrie, who were only 6 and 2 years old at the time.
Years later, Couric continues to advocate for early colorectal cancer screening, by broadcasting her own colonoscopies on TV, like on the Today show in 2000, and by attending events like the Cologuard Classic PGA Tour Tournament of Champions for Colon Cancer Awareness in Tucson, Arizona, to help other young people avoid the same grief her family endured.
“We’re seeing people in their early 40s, 30s and even 20s being diagnosed with this disease,” Couric said. “It’s absolutely important that people see their doctor at the first sign of any symptoms and talk and ask questions about whether it could be colorectal cancer.”
According to the American Cancer Society, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths overall and the deadliest cancer among people under age 50. Colon cancer is back in the spotlight, with actor James Van Der Beek being the latest celebrity to die from the disease. Although preventable, symptoms such as bloating, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, and bloody stools often go unnoticed. That’s why getting tested early is so important, Couric said. In recent years, the American Cancer Society has lowered the recommended age for starting routine screening for colorectal cancer to 45, but people with a family history of the disease can get tested even earlier. Couric said his daughters, who are in their early 30s, have been tested.
“It’s shocking and heartbreaking to have someone you know or love diagnosed with this disease when you have everything in life right in front of you,” Couric said.
Katie Couric’s ‘biggest regret’ while caring for sick husband
Looking back on her time as a caregiver, Couric said she was too shocked to properly prepare for life without her husband.
“I think my biggest regret, frankly, is that I never talked about my husband potentially dying. We never had those difficult conversations,” she said, adding how traumatic the diagnosis was for both of them. “Honestly, I wish I had gone to someone who could have facilitated those conversations, because the only way to deal with Jay’s illness was to stay hopeful and keep saying, ‘We’ll figure it out.'”
Couric said hope is important and can keep people going “even under the worst circumstances imaginable.” At the same time, living in denial that someone may not recover can prevent families from making plans for the future, she said.
“There’s a lot of things I didn’t talk about with Jay because I couldn’t handle bringing up the possibility of him not being around,” she said. “As a caregiver, that’s probably my biggest regret.”
She also emphasized the importance of caregivers taking care of themselves while caring for everyone else in their lives to avoid burnout.
“You need to accept help and ask for help,” Couric said. “For my own physical and mental health, I need to rest. During Jay’s illness, I tried to do that. I felt guilty at times, but I knew if I didn’t I would explode.”
Katie Couric says, “There’s a lot of bad things about aging.” But she is grateful.
Couric remarried financier John Molnar in 2014, around the time her daughters left home and entered the empty nest era. Twelve years later, she said the transition from the chaos of raising young children and teenagers to the quiet life of an empty nest was difficult.
“You don’t have the same rhythm anymore. When you have kids, it was very important for me to have dinner together. You have responsibilities, you have school, so all these things give your life a certain rhythm,” Couric said. “And when those things are gone, you not only have to be quiet, but you have to adapt to a different rhythm of life.”
Couric is currently preparing to welcome her second grandchild. Although she was tired of just thinking about getting older, “To be honest, there are a lot of things I don’t like about getting older,” she said. But she also appreciates the wrinkles and stiffness of her joints. “I’m so lucky to be here,” she said.
“I hope to be here for a long time for my grandchildren,” she said. “And it’s so much fun to be able to experience a little kid and see the world through his eyes and watch my daughter become a mother.”
Madeline Mitchell’s role covering women and the care economy for USA TODAY is supported by a partnership with Pivotal and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editorial input.
Contact Madeline at: memitchell@usatoday.com and @maddiemitch_ At X.
