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The
Couric Effect
As a promoter of cancer research, testing and education,
Katie Couric has inspired the Multiple Myeloma Research
Foundation in its efforts to spotlight the disease.
Today
co-anchor
Katie Couric. |
Katie
Couric will probably always be best known as the personable
co-anchor of NBC’s Today, a woman whose easygoing
warmth gives millions of Americans a fresh start to their
day. But due to inner strength she found in the wake of
personal tragedy, she hopes to do far more than start people’s
days. She hopes to save lives.
In 1998, Couric’s active, health-conscious husband,
criminal defense attorney Jay Monahan, was diagnosed with
advanced colon cancer. Just nine months later, after seeking
out treatment options and traveling to an endless cycle
of tests and appointments, the 42-year-old died, leaving
Couric and their two young daughters, Elinor and Caroline.
Through her grief, Couric said she gradually realized her
personal trauma might hold opportunities for others. “People
learn from television. That’s where most people get
their news,” she said. “I realized I had the
capacity to educate so many people in my position.”
In March of 2000, Today aired “Confronting
Colon Cancer,” a series Couric created in which she
underwent a colonoscopy on camera in an effort to demystify
the exam for viewers across the country. In May 2001, Couric,
who has six Emmys, won the prestigious George Foster Peabody
Award for the series.
Couric also works to boost screenings and programs for those
with gastrointestinal cancers when the camera is turned
off. In the same month that the series aired, she, along
with nationally known cancer fundraiser Lilly Tartikoff
and the Entertainment Industry Foundation, launched the
National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance (NCCRA), an
effort to end colon cancer through education, preventative
testing and research.
The series and the NCCRA have definitely gotten the word
out. The number of colonoscopy screenings has increased
almost 20 percent in the past few years. Researchers at
the University of Michigan refer to the jump as “The
Couric Effect.”
Couric was in Greenwich in October to receive the Leadership
Award from the New Canaan-based Multiple Myeloma Research
Foundation (MMRF). Co-founder Kathy Giusti, who has the
disease, joined Mistress of Ceremonies Deborah Norville,
Congressman Christopher Shays, former Vice Presidential
candidate Geraldine Ferraro (also a multiple myeloma patient)
and a host of others in honoring Couric’s achievements
at the gala benefit, which raised nearly $1.3 million for
research.
Though MMRF deals with a different form of cancer, Giusti
said she wanted to honor Couric as a vital promoter of cancer
research and education.
“When I look at what has happened in Katie’s
life – yet she’s on, she’s smiling –
she completely inspires me,” says Giusti.
Couric said she usually concentrates her efforts on colorectal
cancer events, including “Hollywood Hits Broadway,”
which raised $5 million for the Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal
Health at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical
Center in 2004. But she made an exception for Giusti, who
wrote to Couric, asking her to be a part of the MMRF’s
efforts.
“I was so impressed because of her caring and her
pluck and her determination. She’s doing so much to
help with education and research,” said Couric. “And
you know what they always say: ‘The squeaky wheel
gets the grease.’” |
MEREDITH
GUINNESS |
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