Katie Couric isn't just revisiting her colonoscopy; she's revisiting the reason behind it.

Just over 25 years after the veteran journalist underwent a televised colonoscopy on the "Today" show in honor of her late husband, Couric is once again baring herself in a new Sydney Sweeney-inspired ad from the Colon Cancer Alliance and Ryan Reynolds' production company Maximum Effort.

Couric's husband, lawyer and NBC News legal analyst Jay Monahan, died in 1998 after a colon cancer diagnosis in early 1997. The couple was married for nine years. She is now "happily remarried" to financier John Molner, her business partner and husband of 11 years. But as the former "CBS Evening News" anchor says, grief stays with you at some level.

"I think someone described grief as like having a stone in your pocket. It's there, but after a while, you don't notice it as much," she says. "My girls were 6 and 2 when their dad died. And I think about him, and I certainly think about him when I see my grandson, who is named Jay, which I think is really a beautiful legacy."

The Katie Couric Media cofounder says talking about Monahan, working with organizations like Stand Up to Cancer and continuing her "mini crusade" to increase awareness about the importance of cancer screenings and research have helped along the way.

Couric has long used her platform to talk about personal challenges, whether that be loss or health, in an increasingly vulnerable broadcast journalist space. There have been privacy concerns along the way – she remembers former "Today" coanchor Jane Pauley urging her to maintain her daughters' privacy during her time on the morning show – but the author says what she has shared with the public often makes the work more rewarding.

"People have a parasocial relationship with a lot of people they see on television or, now, online on different platforms. And I think creating that emotional bond with people just makes what you're trying to do all the more powerful," she says. "I think it is much easier to have an impact when people feel a certain sense of familiarity with you."

As a now fully independent journalist, Couric has remained direct and open on her personal platforms, noting "there are times when I make my feelings known when I feel strongly about something." That includes everything from reproductive rights for women and support for the LGBTQ community to Jimmy Kimmel and the fight for free speech.

"I think after all these years, I've earned the right to do that. I just find they're more and more opportunities these days to express my opinion. And when I see something that I think is wrong and I feel strongly about it, then I will speak up," she says. "These are just core values that I have. And I would feel almost uncomfortable if I didn't, at this point in my career, if I wasn't able to freely express those views."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Katie Couric on vulnerability in journalism and the grief behind her PSA legacy

Reporting by Taijuan Moorman, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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