Katie Couric has shared an update on the progress of her treatment after being diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this summer.
The former “Today” host was diagnosed in June, had surgery in July, and began chemotherapy and radiation on September 7. She revealed on NBC on Monday that she had completed the 15 days of radiation treatment she had been undergoing.
“I’m feeling fantastic. I’ve been fighting a cold for several days, but otherwise, I’m well. I just finished my radiation therapy a week ago,” she explained. “Even though they said it would make you tired, I didn’t feel nearly as exhausted as they said. I had a lumpectomy in July.”
“I simply feel fortunate that it was diagnosed at the time that it was,” she continued.”
Couric went for a breast exam during the summer, and the doctor told her she needed a biopsy.
“I was like, ‘Oh no, what does it mean?’ and she said, ‘I think there’s something we need to remove, and I want to do it now.’”
According to her statements, she was taken aback by the news.
“She called me the next day to tell me, and I was taken by surprise by the news.” “Those words, ‘There’s a chance you have cancer,’ she adds, “do halt you in your tracks.”
“But she informed me that it was treatable and that we should devise a strategy. I went from being shocked to not being surprised given my family’s history, to being relieved because my exposure to cancer with Jay [her late husband], Emily [her late sister], and my mother-in-law… they were all advanced and the prognosis was really tough, so I felt so grateful, honestly,” she said.
Couric’s first spouse was Jay Monahan, who died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42. She took herself a few days to process her own diagnosis before informing her children, Carrie and Ellie.
“I decided to take some time off to think about it and acquire a better understanding of the situation we’re in.” “I also called each of them on FaceTime,” she explained. “I was reassuring, but I could tell from their expressions that they were still worried.” It doesn’t matter how you go about it; telling someone the bad news is unpleasant.
She recommended women to schedule a mammography appointment.
