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Bachelorette's Katie Thurston Shares Cancer Treatment Plan After Stage 4 Diagnosis
Life for Katie Thurston was beauteous rosy arsenic she entered her 33rd year.
"No fancy photoshoot, nary posing with dessert, conscionable simply maine astatine 33 contiguous :)," the former Bachelorette wrote on Instagram Jan. 3, 2024. "Happy and healthy."
She was doing what she loved—including stand-up comedy—and uncovering love, with her gathering and getting engaged to comedian Jeff Arcuri in the past year.
They began readying their aboriginal together. But little than six weeks after Katie celebrated her 34th birthday, her satellite turned upside down when she was diagnosed with signifier 3 bosom cancer.
It was "the worst feeling I’ve ever felt," she recalled connected the March 19 occurrence of Good Morning America. "You’re conscionable devastated. You’re truthful devastated. It’s truthful shocking. As a 34-year-old woman, you're not prepared."
Katie archetypal grew acrophobic erstwhile she discovered a lump successful her bosom past summer. Initially, she thought it mightiness beryllium related to her period, soreness from moving out, oregon from a benign cyst successful her bosom she had removed erstwhile she was 20. But erstwhile the lump didn’t spell distant months later, the world prima decided to get it checked out.
After having an ultrasound, mammogram and biopsies taken for testing, Katie got the news.
"I deliberation my assignment was February 5," she shared successful a March 18 Instagram video. "And past by February 13th, I got the authoritative telephone that it was so bosom cancer."
Since getting her diagnosis—which she announced connected February 15—Katie has kept fans updated connected her journey, including her treatment plan, acquisition with embryo freezing and hunt for answers successful her ongoing health battle.
"You’re connected endurance mode," she told GMA. "You don’t person a choice. You amusement up oregon you die, and I hatred to accidental it that mode but each time you person an appointment, each time you person to amusement up. You don’t person a choice."
Through it all, Jeff has been by her side. And connected March 22, the mates reiterated their committedness to each different “in sickness and successful health” by tying the knot successful New York City, where Katie recently moved aft having antecedently lived successful Los Angeles.
But little than a week aft they became hubby and wife, Katie announced that spots had been detected connected her liver, meaning that her crab is present signifier 4.
"I cognize signifier 4 tin dependable precise scary and it tin be," she said successful a March 28 Instagram video. "But fixed that I americium triple-positive and the spots connected my liver are reasonably tiny and detected early, I consciousness precise optimistic connected my outcome."
As Katie continues her combat against cancer, work what she’s shared astir her experience, including wherefore she’s reminding her followers to get checked.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
On What Led Katie Thurston to Get Checked
Katie Thurston archetypal grew acrophobic erstwhile she discovered a tiny lump successful her bosom during the summertime of 2024.
"I discovered it myself," The Bachelorette alum wrote connected her Instagram Stories successful February 2025. "Thought possibly it was my period. Maybe it was musculus soreness from moving out."
Because Katie had a benign cyst removed from that aforesaid bosom erstwhile she was 20, she assumed this caller lump was thing similar. But aft it didn't spell away, she decided to get it checked out.
"Went to the doc reasoning it was going to beryllium nothing," she continued. "I was wrong."
Instagram / Katie Thurston
On How Katie Thurston Learned of Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis
First, Katie's doc referred her to a specializer to get a bosom ultrasound. Then, she had a mammogram.
"After past getting the mammogram, they wanted maine to bash a biopsy," Katie explained successful a March 18, 2025 Instagram video. "Only past tin they corroborate if it’s bosom cancer. I deliberation my assignment was February 5. And past by February 13th, I got the authoritative telephone that it was so bosom cancer."
And she'll ne'er hide the infinitesimal she archetypal got the news.
It was "the worst feeling I’ve ever felt," the world star, who noted her household doesn't person a past of bosom cancer, shared connected Good Morning America March 19, 2025. "You’re conscionable devastated. You’re truthful devastated. It’s truthful shocking. As a 34-year-old woman, you're not prepared."
Katie informed her fans of her signifier 3 diagnosis connected February 15, 2025.
"I experienced a scope of emotions implicit the past 2 weeks," she wrote connected Instagram. "Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And past strength. Purposeful. Ready. I cried a lot."
And she expressed her intent to papers her travel successful the anticipation of helping others.
"One happening I did aboriginal connected was hunt different stories similar mine," she continued. "Other young women with bosom cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma. Mastectomy. Pregnancy aft bosom cancer. All of their stories helped. So I mean to beryllium the aforesaid for others. This is time 1 of sharing and is going to beryllium a agelong one. This archetypal measurement of acceptance of my world was the hardest. But I americium acceptable to combat this."
Instagram / Katie Thurston
On Katie Thurston's Fertility Journey
News of Katie's diagnosis came 5 months aft she got engaged to Jeff Arcuri, a comedian she met done Instagram successful the outpouring of 2024.
"We thought we’d beryllium readying a wedding," the TV property continued connected GMA. "We thought we’d beryllium trying for a baby. Instead, we cognize that this twelvemonth is truly dedicated to attraction and getting better."
So, Katie and Jeff decided to frost their embryos successful lawsuit her crab treatments affected her fertility. The FBoy Island prima and the comedian documented their acquisition successful mid-March and gave fans an update astatine the extremity of that month.
"I thought I’d stock the result of embryo freezing," she wrote connected her Instagram Stories March 31, 2025. "We retrieved 17 eggs and attempted to fertilize them. Of the 17, lone 6 were successfully fertilized. But past they person to marque it to the blastocyst stage. Only 3 made it. And aft familial testing, we person 2 embryos we were capable to freeze, 1 Grade B and 1 Grade C. This is the world of IVF."
Katie has besides spoken astir the anticipation of utilizing a surrogate down the line.
"Jeff and I discussed the value of my wellness and that erstwhile the clip comes, surrogacy volition apt beryllium the champion enactment for us," she wrote connected her Instagram Stories. "A affable reminder to halt judging celebrities who prosecute surrogacy due to the fact that you don't cognize what they person going connected successful their idiosyncratic lives."
However, Katie told GMA she and Jeff are "also OK being a childless couple."
Instagram / Katie Thurston
On Katie Thurston & Jeff Arcuri's Decision to Marry Amid Her Cancer Battle
Katie and Jeff besides moved guardant with their plans to wed by tying the knot connected March 22, 2025 successful New York, the bride having made the cross-country determination aft months of dating long-distance.
"It was truthful so sweet," she told Us Weekly astir their determination to person a ceremony, sharing it took spot successful the backyard of their flat with their parents, officiant person and recently adopted canine Charlie successful attendance. "Obviously, we were wanting to program a wedding and there’s a batch of emotions that travel successful with chemo and the interaction and the health. We don’t cognize what the adjacent twelvemonth looks like. And 1 nighttime helium said, 'I privation to amusement you that I inactive emotion you and that I’m present to stay.' And helium said, 'I'll get joined to you tomorrow.'"
And portion Katie noted they program to person a large wedding successful the future, she added that Jeff's motion was him "proving that he’s present to stay" successful sickness and successful health.
For the groom, determination was besides a applicable constituent to saying "I do" successful summation to wanting to instrumentality this adjacent measurement arsenic a couple.
"I besides conscionable privation to beryllium capable to beryllium successful the infirmary with her and conscionable beryllium like, 'My wife’s successful there,'" helium told the outlet. "There’s much powerfulness to that. I don’t privation to beryllium not with you for immoderate of this."
Instagram / Katie Thurston
On Katie Thurston's Cancer Metastasizing
Less than a week aft Jeff and Katie became hubby and wife, she shared that a PET scan detected "some spots" connected her liver and that her crab is present signifier 4.
"I cognize signifier 4 tin dependable precise scary and it tin be," she said successful an Instagram video March 28, 2025. "But fixed that I americium triple-positive and the spots connected my liver are reasonably tiny and detected early, I consciousness precise optimistic connected my outcome."
Instagram / Katie Thurston
On Katie Thurston's Treatment Plan
After receiving her signifier 4 diagnosis, Katie gave an update connected her attraction plan.
"The program is fundamentally the aforesaid arsenic my bosom cancer," she wrote connected her Instagram stories astatine the extremity of March 2025. "The crab that is wrong the liver is from the bosom cancer. So successful basal terms, my bosom crab is the basal and volition beryllium the focus. Six rounds of chemotherapy to start."
But close earlier Katie was scheduled to statesman this treatment, she received an update.
"Today I was expected to commencement chemo," she wrote connected Instagram April 4, 2025. "I had my acold cap, my acold socks, snacks, blankets, medications, amusement ready. My aunt Lindsey flew successful to beryllium with maine this play for recovery. However, yesterday I got the telephone that my pathology results connected my liver, breast, and lymph nodes each came backmost arsenic HER2 Negative adjacent though my archetypal samples arsenic Kaiser were HER2+. I was minutes distant from taking my steroid for chemo prep. Instead I americium headed to my doc to sermon however this happened, what investigating is needed, and what this means for my caller attraction plan."
As a result, Katie noted it "sounds similar chemo is disconnected the array now."
"I should beryllium excited astir that," she added. "But successful 2 months, I’ve continued to get an updated diagnosis 3 times. I deliberation thoroughness and getting a 2nd aesculapian sentiment has been instrumental successful my aboriginal crab signifier journey."
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
On Katie Thurston's Message for Others
As Katie continues her combat against cancer, she's taking things time by day.
"Sometimes I deliberation 'wtf is my life?’" she wrote connected her Boobie Broadcast transmission March 31, 2025. "But whether I similar it oregon not, this is my beingness and I person to marque the champion of it. They accidental unrecorded similar you’re dying, but present that I am, it’s easier said than done. And don’t get maine wrong, each day, we are each person to death. Not successful a morbid mode but successful the undeniable ellipse of life. So crab oregon not, I americium blessed with today. So portion I person bittersweet moments oregon days, I privation to bash my champion to cherish my time, crab oregon not."
And she's sending her followers an important reminder.
"Don’t wait. Be proactive. Get checked out," Katie said connected Good Morning America. "You could beryllium doing yourself a favour successful the future."
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