Cancer Straight Talk Podcast from MSK New Episode: Katie Couric’s Cancer Journey: From Grief to Advocacy to Her Own Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Newswise — Cancer Straight Talk from MSK is a podcast that brings together patients and experts, to have straightforward evidence-based conversations. Memorial Sloan Kettering’s Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes hosts, with a mission to educate and empower patients and their family members.

In this special episode, Dr. Diane Reidy-Lagunes sits down with renowned journalist and cancer screening advocate Katie Couric at The Paley Center for Media in New York City. After losing her first husband to colon cancer in 1997, Katie made history when she received her first colonoscopy on-air as host of the Today show, inspiring millions of Americans to do the same in a phenomenon known as the Couric Effect. Her role as the “screen queen” has continued ever since, taking on new meaning last year when she revealed her own breast cancer diagnosis.

Check out the epsiode here. 

Episode Highlights

What is Katie Couric’s connection to colon cancer? Who was Katie Couric’s husband?

• Jay Monahan was diagnosed with stage four metastatic colon cancer in 1997 at the age of 41 and died nine months later. Jay and Katie’s daughters were two and six at the time.
• With her national platform as host of the Today show, Katie Couric felt compelled to educate the public about colonoscopies since with early colon cancer detection, there’s an over 90% cure rate.
• Katie Couric received her first colonoscopy live on the Today show in March 2000, after which the scheduling of colonoscopies increased 20% nationwide, a phenomenon known as the Couric Effect.

When should I get a colonoscopy? How often should I get a colonoscopy?

• People aged 45 and over should start receiving colonoscopies at least once every 10 years.
• Colon cancer is the second most fatal cancer of men and women combined – totaling 52,000 people every year, roughly the same number of casualties in the Vietnam War – yet it can easily be prevented with regular screenings. With early detection, there’s an over 90% cure rate.

Why are more young people getting colorectal cancer?

• Gene mutations (the damage done to a cell that eventually “wakes up,” starts multiplying, and causes cancer) can happen at any point in a person’s life and any number of times. It is impossible to know when or how a mutation occurs, or how many lead to cancer development. In the case of colorectal cancer, especially among young and middle-aged people, one possible theory is the gut’s microbiome changing its flora over time, though more research needs to be done.

How do I help someone with a terminal illness? How do I talk to someone who’s going to die?

• Try not to dwell in a state of denial. Acknowledging the reality of the situation will help everyone move forward without the regret of never having talked about the end of life or finding closure.
• Try not to shy away from asking tough questions before it’s too late, such as:
  • “What would be important for you to do before you pass?”
  • “What topics, conversations, etc. are important to you towards the end of life?”
  • “What is something you want people to remember you by?”
• Have these conversations early with the people in your life, so you can reflect on them together when the time comes.
• Oftentimes, crying together is the most cathartic and honest thing to do. Make peace with that being the only option sometimes.
• While it feels like the caregiver’s role is to help a person stay alive, it is also the caregiver’s role to help a person die having had all the closure and conversations necessary.
• Remember you can only help someone else if you help yourself first. Find someone to talk to if you need support.

Does Katie Couric have breast cancer?

• Katie Couric was diagnosed with an early-stage, curable breast cancer in October 2022 after a routine mammogram and breast ultrasound, which she documented on her social media in order to raise awareness for cancer screenings after COVID delayed many people from getting screened.

What is breast density? Do I need a breast ultrasound?

• 45% of women aged 40 and over have what are considered dense breasts, making it difficult for an abnormality or tumor to be discovered through mammography alone.
• Women with dense breasts need additional screening for breast cancer beyond a mammogram, such as a breast ultrasound or MRI.
• The Find It Early Act is federal legislation currently being considered that would not only require physicians in all 50 states to inform women whether or not they have dense breasts and therefore benefit from additional screenings for breast cancer, but it would also require insurance companies to pay for those additional screenings with no out-of-pocket expenses for the patient.

How do I know whether or not some science is true?

• It is important to look at the source of any medical material you consume online and determine whether or not the source has any affiliation with a political group. Just because a website has a medical seal or appears legitimate, that does not mean it is.
• The spread of misinformation is magnified by social media where people can choose to see only content that aligns with their own beliefs, feeding a cycle of self-validation founded in misinformation. It is important to be aware of this when spending time on social media.

Is there a vaccine for cancer?

• mRNA technology is currently being used in vaccine trials for certain types of cancer.

How will A.I. help fight cancer?

• A.I. will be able to categorize large sets of genetic data in order to define diseases on a more molecular level. It will then have the ability to synthesize information, find patterns, and determine what’s driving a certain disease. These findings will inform the clinical trials of the future.

What’s the latest cancer research highlights?

• Cancer research used to be very organ-specific, but scientists are now understanding much better how cancer behaves in general.
• Immunotherapy, something that was laughed at 20 years ago, is the building up of a person’s own immune system to fight cancer cells and is now the target of most research dollars in the cancer space.
• MSK’s breakthrough rectal cancer immunotherapy trial saw 100% complete remission in 14 patients with rectal cancer.
• Only 1 in 10 promising research proposals are approved and funded by the NCI. It’s more important now than ever to fund cancer research.

Learn more about breast cancer screening

Learn more about colon cancer screening

If you have questions, feedback, or topic ideas for upcoming episodes, please email us at: [email protected]