Craig Melvin is a wonderful news anchor. He’s also a man who loves his family. The Today Show host has raised millions to help save lives in honor of his late brother. Keep reading for all the details on the heartwarming gesture.
Craig Melvin’s Brother Passed Away From Cancer In 2020
Cancer runs in Craig Melvin’s family. His beloved mother, Betty Jo, battled breast cancer and was declared cancer-free last year. Sadly, the Today Show host’s brother and niece weren’t as lucky. His niece passed away a decade ago from a rare childhood cancer. His brother, Lawrence, died in 2020 at just 43 after a battle with colorectal cancer. Craig Melvin does everything he can to keep his brother’s memory alive. That includes doing whatever he can to prevent other families from suffering a similar loss.
Craig Melvin and his wife, sports reporter Lindsay Czarniak, created a fundraiser five years ago in honor of his late brother. The two-day Bottoms Up Invitational event features speakers, a concert, and a golf tournament. This year’s event will be held on September 13-14 in Connecticut. Craig Melvin has added another feature at this year’s event to help spread the word about the importance of colonoscopies.
“We’re doing something called Screen Smart, and the panel consists of industry leaders and doctors and me and my wife and we’re going to talk about some of the latest breakthroughs, some of the latest technology like blood testing and things like that,” he told PEOPLE magazine.
Today Host Raises Millions To Save Lives In Brother’s Honor
Craig Melvin has been encouraging people to get annual colonoscopies for years. In fact, he said that dozens of Today viewers approach him outside the studio. “‘Hey, Craig, I had a colonoscopy.’ You’d be surprised how many people actually do say that to me,” he told PEOPLE. “Every week, there’s one or two. That’s actually been one of the joys of doing this for five years — I have become associated with colonoscopies.”
His goal is to reduce the stigma of colonoscopies. Early detection of colon cancer has a high success rate of remission. “[We want to] encourage people to have awkward conversations with their friends and family members, have people talk about blood in their stool and abdominal pains and weight loss that’s unexplained. All those things that 10 years ago people didn’t want to talk about? Now people are talking about them,” the Today host said.
In the five years since he created the fundraiser, Craig Melvin and his wife have raised over $5 million for the Colorectal Cancer Alliance. The money goes toward research, awareness, and prevention of colon cancer. That’s a wonderful way to honor his late brother.
Jennifer Havener grew up in a small town in Upstate New York. She earned her B.A in Writing & Literature from Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado. She always knew watching reality TV shows and soap operas, particularly ‘Days of Our Lives’, would come in handy someday. When she’s not writing, she’s playing with her dogs, Lola and Ruger