In 1998, Katie Couric lost her husband, Jay Monahan, in the prime of his life, to colon cancer. Since then, Couric has been a passionate crusader in raising public awareness about colon cancer and in stressing the vital importance of colon cancer screening for everyone over 40 years of age. "Jay was just 41 when he was diagnosed, and it would have taken a very astute doctor to pick up on it being colorectal cancer early on," says Couric. "He was pretty much asymptomatic. He had no family history. You can be feeling perfectly fine – on top of the world physically – and still have colorectal cancer. One of the many difficult things about this disease is you often have no symptoms. You may not have blood in your stool, or have lost weight or your bowels habits may not have changed. But you could still have the disease."

In 2000, Couric helped co-found the Entertainment Industry Foundation National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, EIF's NCCRA, an organization who works to raise public awareness about colon cancer, the importance of screening and in funding cutting-edge research. Celebrities Morgan Freeman, Dennis Quaid and Ray Romano, who appears in a video PSA to help promote awareness for colon cancer and raise funds through the sale of philosophy's laughing gas bathroom spray on QVC, have joined Couric in spreading her colon cancer awareness message intended to save lives, "Please, get tested. This one can be cured."

Other celebrity friends who have helped Couric raise colon cancer awareness and the need for colon cancer screening are: Colin Farrell, Dennis Franz, Heidi Klum, Mandy Moore, Judge Judy Sheindlin, and the "Peanuts" characters on behalf of the late Charles Schultz.