The sweet story behind Craig Melvin visiting Savannah Guthrie's mom: 'Love in action'

Savannah Guthrie is grateful for her TODAY family.

On March 8, Savannah shared a photo of a beaming Craig Melvin posing in Arizona with her mother, Nancy Guthrie.

“This is a @craigmelvinnbc appreciation post,” Savannah wrote. “This lovely human took time out on his busy visit to my hometown of Tucson, AZ (where he is spending his weekend and personal time supporting @colorectalcanceralliance in honor of his beloved brother Lawrence) to visit my mom and give her a hug.”

“This is friendship and love in action,” she added.

Craig’s older brother, Lawrence Meadows, died at age 43 from colon cancer in 2020. Craig described the Baptist minister, funeral home owner and father of two as “one of the best humans you would’ve ever known.”

“Cancer robbed him and us of so much,” the TODAY co-host wrote on Instagram.

Craig first shared the news about Meadows's diagnosis in 2017 on TODAY.com, noting that doctors removed a tumor from his abdomen in 2016 and discovered that the baseball-sized cancer had already spread.

Colorectal cancer is the fourth most common cancer diagnosed in the U.S. (not including some kinds of skin cancer) and the fourth leading cause of cancer deaths in American men and women, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

It disproportionately affects the Black community; the American Cancer Society notes that Black people about 20% more likely to get colorectal cancer and about 40% more likely to die from it than most other groups.

To raise awareness about the importance of preventative screening, Craig designed a TODAY tie and sock set in honor of Meadows.

“In its early stages, colorectal cancer is very treatable with a five-year survival rate of 90%. It’s also highly preventable with screening,” Craig wrote in the product description. “It’s become my mission to raise awareness about young-onset colorectal cancer, not only my memory of my resilient brother, but also with the hope that in sparking conversation within families and the Black community, we’ll save lives.”

This article was originally published on TODAY.com