Katie Couric spent her summer traveling the country visiting with future CBS news fans and raising money for cancer awareness. Couric, whose husband Jay Monahan died of colon cancer in 1998 at the age of 42, has become a prominent spokesperson for colon cancer awareness. She underwent a colonoscopy on-air in March 2000 and inspired many others to get checked. In October 2005, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Couric broadcast her own mammogram on the Today Show in hopes of motivating women everywhere to get schedule their own mammograms. Her influence on both cancer fronts -- known as the Couric Effect -- demonstrates the fact that one powerful person can draw much attention to important causes. And perhaps her influence -- soon to arrive on television screens everywhere -- will continue as she takes the driver's seat on the CBS Evening News beginning September 5 at 6:30 PM.

On her second day of work in her new job, Couric will interview President Bush at the White House as part of a primetime special. Other story plans include digging deeper into the stories of the day and answering questions viewers might have on all topics. Hopefully, cancer issues will continue to take priority in Couric's life so that we all may benefit from her advocacy.

KrisTv has published a feature story on Vicki Barrilleaux, a colon cancer survivor, who has started a colon cancer awareness and screening group in Corpus Christi Texas, and who claims Katie Couric saved her life.

"Everything I knew prior to my diagnosis was what I had heard from her because of her husband," Barrilleaux said. "I was lucky, I did have some symptoms. Usually, the number one symptom of colon cancer is no symptoms, but I did have some bleeding. I was more aware because I had listened to her. It can be embarrassing, and I don't know if it's something I would have talked to my doctor about if I hadn't had that concern."

New CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric is on a six cities tour to connect with viewers and promote colon cancer awareness to encourage colon cancer screenings. 

On Tuesday, Couric was in Dallas to attend a benefit luncheon for the American Cancer Society. According to reports, most of her talk was about her husband Jay Monahan's colon cancer diagnosis, treatment and death. She is quoted as saying, "He felt invincible, immortal, before doctors found that he not only had colon cancer but also that it was at an advanced stage, taking over his liver." She described Monahan's last day and the moment of his death. There were many tears in the audience.

Couric expressed the feelings many cancer patients and their families feel when the diagnosis of cancer is given. "Suddenly you need to have a medical degree to deal with all the options," she said. One of the reasons she worked to open The Jay Monahan Center for Gastrointestinal Health, named in Monahan's honor, was because she wanted to create the kind of center for others that both her and her husband would have appreciated when he was first diagnosed with cancer. 

"It was a very lonely and isolating experience and very harrowing to go from one specialist to another. Having this comprehensive center full of compassionate caregivers all under one roof would have been a wonderful place for us to go. The opening was a bittersweet occasion, but the center is going to be incredibly helpful to thousands of families and what can be better than that?"

Couric began her six cities tour in Tampa, Florida. Today she was in Dallas and plans stops in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Denver, San Diego and San Francisco. She takes over for CBS Evening News Bob Schieffer on September 5.