Television personality Katie Couric revealedon Wednesday that she has been diagnosed with breast cancer, saying that she was diagnosed with cancer in June.
In a post online, Couric said she began radiation treatment earlier this month.
Couric, who had a mammogram performed on her during a broadcast of “Today” in 2000, said she was late getting a mammogram. Doctors told her in June she had not had one performed since December 2020.
“I was six months late this time,” Couric said. “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.”
Couric’s doctor informed her that she would be “fine but we need to make a plan.”
Couric noted that she had been diligent about getting frequent breast cancer screenings after her husband Jay died in 1998 of colon cancer.
“I had practically become an expert on colon and pancreatic cancers, but no one in my family had ever had breast cancer,” Couric said. “During that 24-hour whirlwind, I found out that 85 percent of the 264,000 American women who are diagnosed every year in this country have no family history. I clearly had a lot to learn."