'This Can't Be Happening Again'
- In an interview with Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest, Katie Couric shared the details of her husband’s recent cancer scare, during which they found a large tumor on his liver.
- Couric’s first husband passed away from colon cancer, and she has dedicated herself to raising money for cancer research and spreading awareness. Experts recommend that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45.
- Couric says that her recently released memoir, Going There, is written for people who have gone through the same kinds of loss and struggles that she has.
Couric has been married to John Molner since 2014. When Molner wasn't feeling well, Couric urged him to visit The Monahan Center at New York Hospital, named after her first husband. One day at work in her talk show studio, she received an alarming text from Molner: "Call me right away."
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Molner was safe, but his cancer-scare shook Couric. "It was just terrifying," she told Ripa and Seacrest. "It was so emotional."
Couric appeared on the show to promote her memoir, Going There, which will resonate with many cancer survivors and their families.
In the interview, Couric explained that she wanted to use the challenges she has faced to lift other people up: "I wrote this book for people who could relate to my own experienceswho have lost people, who have been told they’re never going to make it, who have been disappointed and figured out a way to kinda say, 'You know, you gotta go through it, it’s going to be ok.'"
Doug Wednt lost his wife to ovarian cancer. Here, he discusses facing cancer as a team, and moving forward after losing a loved one to cancer.
Jay's Cancer Battle
Couric, who has found love again with her current husband, financier John Molner, honors her late husband by dedicating most of her life to raising awareness for colorectal cancer. Monahan was just 41 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer, and he passed the following year. The couple married in 1989.
Couric spoke to CureToday.com in 2019 about her tragic loss.
"Our daughters were 6 and 2 at the time, and it's really hard to describe the kind of heartbreak that ensued after he passed away," she said. "Our hopes and dreams, what I thought was going to be a long and happy life together, just vanished into thin air after his nine-month battle."
Tragically, the cancer had spread to his liver, which is why Monahan declined so quickly. Couric addressed having to start over and pushing forward.
"I think that it's hard to describe for people what it's like unless you've been there, and you have to rebuild your life," she shared. "Thomas Jefferson once said that the earth is for the living and we're all terminal. So I wanted to try to have a full and happy life, even if it meant doing so without my husband. I had two little girls who were depending on me. I didn't have the luxury or the time to put the covers over my head and give up. I think people find a way to go on because they have to go on. They have no choice but to go on."
Current guidelines call for colon cancer screening to begin at age 45, but people who are at high risk are often advised to begin screening earlier.
Learning About Colon Cancer
One of the most common signs of colon cancer is a change in bowel habits. This ranges from constipation or diarrhea to changes in the size or shape of bowel movements. A change in stool color, particularly black or tarry stools, can indicate bleeding from a tumor that lies deep in the colon.
Dr. Paul Oberstein from NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center goes over symptoms of colon cancer in a previous interview with SurvivorNet.
"One of the most important facts about colon cancer is that the earlier and smaller it's detected, the easier the treatment is and the more likely it is to be cured," Dr. Oberstein explains. "Because colon cancers grow in the lining of the colon, they sometimes can cause problems with digestion. So someone may have constipation or diarrhea or problems going to the bathroom. Sometimes, they'll cause pain if they're growing large. Rarely, they can grow large enough to be felt as sort of a firm growth in the abdomen, but that's uncommon."
Other symptoms can be harder to pinpoint, such as abdominal pain and unintentional weight loss. Finally, some tumors bleed a small amount over a long period of time, resulting in anemia (low red blood cell count) that is detected on blood work.
Colon Cancer Symptoms
"Imagine a wound on the surface of the skin," Dr. Oberstein says. "It can bleed a little bit and ooze blood. And if that happens, one person a person might see what's called black tarry stools. So they might see darkness in their bowel movements. And that's a sign of bleeding in the stool that's caused by the cancer."
If a person has significant bleeding, they can develop what's called anemia, which is low blood counts, and be tired or have trouble with normal activities because of those blood counts.
"We often recommend to patients that if they see a change in their bowel movements and they feel more fatigued than usual, or they have new issues, it's something to be concerned about and to be pursued with their physician."
It is important to get screened for colon cancer even if you have no family history. Experts recommend that people at average risk of colorectal cancer start regular screening at age 45
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