Tonight is the annual Stand Up to Cancer TV special to raise awareness and money for cancer research. The concert and telethon airs on ABC, CBS, NBC and FOX and several cable networks, including E! and VH1 at 8pmET/7pmCT.

Katie Couric, who lost her husband to colon cancer in 1998, has been behind the initiative since it launched in 2008. TVNewser was at the 2008 Republican Convention when the network news anchors — including Couric with CBS at the time — sat down for interviews about the first TV special, which occurred later that week.

But with her new syndicated show launching from New York on Monday, Couric will not be a part of the telethon, which broadcasts from Los Angeles tonight. “It’s an incredibly exciting and busy time for me, but I think nothing is more important than working to eradicate cancer,” Couric told TVNewser this morning, before a taping of “Good Afternoon America.”

“I’m so sorry I can’t be at Stand Up to Cancer in person this year, but I’ll be tuned in and supporting the cause.”

More than $180 million has been pledged to SU2C since 2008, with more than 350 scientists receiving funding.