Anchors, celebrities stand up to cancer

It takes a special event to bring all three weeknight broadcast news anchors together.

As in its inaugural edition two years ago, "Stand Up to Cancer" remains such an occasion. The hourlong, celebrity-filled program combines information on the disease with appeals for donations to fund research. It will involve ABC's Diane Sawyer, CBS' Katie Couric and NBC's Brian Williams when all of their networks (plus Fox) air it simultaneously - along with several cable outlets - Friday from 8 to 9.THE STARS COME OUT

Among the many other personalities slated to take part are Michael C. Hall of Showtime's "Dexter," who was treated successfully for Hodgkin's lymphoma earlier this year, and Laura Linney of the same network's "The Big C" (in which she plays a cancer patient). Christina Applegate, Lance Armstrong, Fran Drescher, Elizabeth Edwards and Maura Tierney are others on the roster who have had firsthand experiences with cancer.

One of the night's musical performances will be led by Stevie Wonder and will include Natasha Bedingfield, Queen Latifah, Martina McBride, Aaron Neville and Dave Stewart. Others set to appear include Reese Witherspoon, Mandy Moore, Apolo Anton Ohno and Jim Parsons.

With the first telecast, the Stand Up to Cancer movement (or SU2C) raised more than $100 million. From the start, Couric has been at the forefront of the Entertainment Industry Foundation-backed initiative, largely in memory of two of her loved ones: her attorney-husband, Jay Monahan, who died of colon cancer, and her sister Emily Couric, the Virginia state senator claimed by pancreatic cancer.

"If you had any concept of what goes into putting together an event like this, you'd be absolutely astounded that we could do it even every two years," Couric says.

"It requires so much work . . . not only producing the show but also encouraging various networks and cable outlets to carry it again," she says. "There's also getting corporate sponsors, distributing the money we've raised so far and keeping tabs on the progress that's been made. I'm thrilled that we're able to do this again."