Katie Couric - Faith
It's great to see Katie co-hosting the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Here's a throwback to Katie choosing the word FAITH in her quest to Stand Up To Cancer.
Katie Couric, Co-Founder of Stand Up To Cancer, with her MyIntent necklace with #SU2C on one token and #FAITH on the other because "there's never been a time when we've needed it more." ---
Every minute, one person in the United States dies of cancer.
When the disease strikes, it becomes a race against the clock.
When the disease strikes, it becomes a race against the clock.
Katie Couric was the co-anchor of “Today” on NBC in 1997 when her husband, Jay Monahan, was diagnosed with metastatic stage IV colon cancer.
“Every bit of my reporter’s instinct kicked into full gear. I started doing research, I started looking for clinical trials. … I did everything I could to help Jay. Our life completely and irreparably changed in the span of nine months,” Couric says. There are really no words to describe what it’s like watching someone you love… watching the father of your children really being eaten away by this disease.”
“Every bit of my reporter’s instinct kicked into full gear. I started doing research, I started looking for clinical trials. … I did everything I could to help Jay. Our life completely and irreparably changed in the span of nine months,” Couric says. There are really no words to describe what it’s like watching someone you love… watching the father of your children really being eaten away by this disease.”
Monahan died on Jan. 24, 1998. He was just 42.
Following her husband’s death, Couric began a crusade against cancer. She famously underwent a colonoscopy on live television, which led to a 20 percent increase in colon cancer screenings. It was dubbed the “Couric effect.”
Two years after Monahan’s death, Couric’s sister Emily lost her own battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 54.
“I started to realize cancer in general needed more attention and more funding,” Couric recalls.
The news personality teamed with the entertainment industry foundation and a group of multi-talented women to start Stand Up to Cancer. One of the original founders, Laura Ziskin, lost her own fight with the disease in June 2011.
To date, $370 million has been pledged to Stand Up to Cancer, and the initiative has established and funded 19 “Dream Teams” comprised of some of the most talented cancer doctors and researchers in the world.
Couric says it was imperative for the medical community to change its approach to tackling cancer.
“We couldn’t understand why cancer and science researchers were working in silos. We thought, wouldn’t progress come much faster if people worked together? If two heads are better than one, why aren’t 10 heads better than two?
I think the work we’re doing is on behalf of every person...
I think the work we’re doing is on behalf of every person...