Jay Monahan - TVNewser

Katie Couric lends support for two cancer causes, each hitting close to home

Chris Ariens — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:14:25 +0000

Days after dedicating a cancer center in Virgina named for her sister, CBS News anchor Katie Couric is teaming up with the city of New York for the “Make that Call” campaign to raise awareness for colon cancer, which claimed the life of her husband in 1998.

The campaign, kicking off today, will urge New Yorkers ages 50 and older to call their doctors and make an appointment to be screened for colon cancer. March is National Colon Cancer Awareness Month.

“With appropriate screening, colon cancer is often preventable and, when detected early, highly curable. We want New Yorkers to ‘Make That Call’, if not for themselves, then for the people who love them,” Couric says.

On Saturday, Couric was in Charlottesville, VA taking part in the dedication for the Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center — a $74 million, 150,000-square-foot outpatient care facility at the University of Virginia.

At the time of the groundbreaking for the center in April, 2008, Couric told TVNewser, “This has been a dream, kept alive mostly by Emily’s husband, George, and her two sons, Ray and Jeff, ever since she lost her battle with pancreatic cancer.” Emily Couric, a Virginia state senator, died in 2001.

“Emily cared deeply about her constituents and when she went through her ordeal she automatically thought about the broader community. That’s just the kind of person she was.”

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Harry Smith to Undergo Colonoscopy On ‘The Early Show’

Chris Ariens — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:23:54 +0000

Taking a page from his CBS News colleague Katie Couric, CBS “Early Show” co-anchor Harry Smith will undergo a colonoscopy live on Wednesday’s show. Couric will be with Smith as he preps for and undergoes the procedure.

Following Couric’s on-air colonoscopy on the Today show in 2000, University of Michigan researchers documented a 20% increase in the number of colonoscopies performed across the country, dubbing it “The Couric Effect.” Couric’s husband Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in January 1998. In 2004, Couric opened the Jay Monahan Center at New York-Presbyterian Hospital / Weill Medical College of Cornell University, where Smith will undergo his procedure.

And it’s not even sweeps…

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Katie Couric to Host Sesame Workshop Special

Chris Ariens — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 11:17:54 +0000

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CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric has signed on to participate in a new production from Sesame Workshop called “When Families Grieve.” The hour-long HD special features families’ personal stories about coping with the death of a parent, as well as strategies that have helped the families move forward. Couric lost her husband Jay Monahan to cancer in 1998 when their daughters were just 6 and 2 years old.

The special premieres April 14th at 8pmET/PT on PBS. More details after the jump.

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