Meryl Streep appears in colorectal cancer-screening campaign

LOS ANGELES — Actress Meryl Streep will encourage people to get screened for colorectal cancer in a new series of public service announcements from the Entertainment Industry Foundation's National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the groups said Wednesday.

The PSAs will premiere Wednesday on ABC's "Katie!," hosted by Katie Couric, who cofounded the EIF NCCRA, and are part of the CDC's Screen for Life campaign, a multiyear effort to educate Americans about the importance of regular colorectal cancer screening for men and women ages 50 years and older.

Streep is the third Oscar-winning actor to appear in the Screen for Life campaign, after Morgan Freeman and Diane Keaton.

"For me, screening was simple and quick," Streep said. "It was no big deal, except for the huge sense of relief you feel afterward."