Katie Couric is embracing the joys of aging and being a grandmother. She just wishes her late husband, Jay Monahan, could be around to experience it, too.
"He missed seeing his daughters grow up. He missed watching Ellie get married. He missed seeing Carrie, you know, be Phi Beta Kappa at Stanford. He'd be so proud of both of them," Couric told USA TODAY. "I think when you lose somebody like that, it makes you so grateful to be at every chapter of your life, that you actually have multiple chapters to appreciate and enjoy."
Couric was hosting the "Today" show in 1998 when Monahan died at age 42. The whole country mourned her loss and grieved for her two young daughters, Ellie and Carrie, who were just 6 and 2 at the time.
All these years later, Couric continues to advocate for early colorectal cancer screenings − if not by televising her own colonoscopy, like she did on the "Today" show in 2000, then by attending events like the Cologuard Classic PGA TOUR Champions tournament for colon cancer awareness in Tucson, Arizona − so other young people don't go through the same grief her family endured.
"We're seeing people in their early 40s, in their 30s and even their 20s being diagnosed with this disease," Couric said. "It's absolutely critical that at the first sign of any symptom, people go see their doctor and bring up or question whether it could be colorectal cancer."
