Are you up to date with your annual mammogram? If not, please schedule one ASAP. Breast cancer treatments are more successful with early detection.
American journalist Katie Couric, former “CBS Evening News” and “Today” anchor, was diagnosed with breast cancer this summer.
Couric found out during an annual pap smear when her doctor reminded her she was overdue for a mammogram. She was six months late for her annual mammogram.
She let her gynecologist know she’d make an appointment for a mammogram right away and got screened on June 20. Couric said she wanted to record the process but the filming was stopped when the abnormal results were processed.
The next day the doctor contacted Couric to confirm that the abnormal tissue was cancer
“I felt sick and the room started to spin,” Couric wrote in an essay published Wednesday on her Katie Couric Media website. “I was in the middle of an open office, so I walked to a corner and spoke quietly, my mouth unable to keep up with the questions swirling in my head.”
Right away, 65 year old Couric began to reflect on family members who died from cancer.Couric’s family members have struggled with different types of cancer, including immediate relations. Her husband Jay Monahan died from stage four cancer at 42. Her sister died at 54 from pancreatic cancer. Her parents also were diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and prostate cancer.
Fortunately, her breast cancer tumor was “ highly treatable” with medication, surgery and radiation.The journalist finished her last radiation round on Tuesday. This is one day before going public with her diagnosis. She stated that she “felt fine.”
Katie posted on Instagram, to share some statistics and her personal bout with breast cancer.
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As Katie restores herself from the treatment, Katie wanted to remind us how important it is to get an annual mammogram. Also, she suggested that women with “dense breasts” like herself, may consider having an additional screening.
“I was six months late this time. I shudder to think what might have happened if I had put it off longer,” she posted.
