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Article: Colon cancer screening helps
- Article from:
- Winnipeg Free Press
- Article date:
- November 2, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright F.P. Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership Nov 2, 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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By Dr. Charles N. Bernstein
IN 1998, the husband of Katie Couric, then host of NBC's Today Show, died at age 42 of colon cancer.
Couric publicized his death to raise awareness of colon cancer and in March, 2000 she underwent a colonoscopy on television. A colonoscopy is a minimally invasive endoscopic examination of the large colon and a portion of the small bowel with a fiber optic camera.
This inspired many others to get checked as well and this became known as the "Couric effect" in the medical literature, according to a study published in the July 14, 2003, edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Colon cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in Canada. It is ...