Reading Time: 3 minutes
A long-time resident of Bachelor Nation needs our thoughts and our prayers.
On February 15, Katie Thurston — a contestant on The Bachelor Season 25 and the lead of The Bachelorette Season 17 — announced she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The 34-year-old confirmed her diagnosis in a “life update” on Saturday, thanking her fiancé, comedian Jeff Arcuri, and stating simply: I have breast cancer.
“Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentines Day celebrations. I felt envious if I’m being honest,” the reality star continued.
“Jeff took me to Hawaii and after, we were going to travel the world before planting roots together in NYC finally. But instead, my Vday was spent coordinating a place to live as I have to go back to LA for more testing and treatment.”
Detailing the process of finding out about the disease, Thurston explained to followers that she “had a small lump in my breast around the 10’oclock [sic] spot, adding
“I discovered it myself. Thought maybe it was my period [or] maybe it was muscle soreness from working out. But, eventually, this lump never went away.”
Thurston learned of her diagnosis with cancer two weeks ago.
She said that she “experienced a range of emotions” during the period between then and now, when she decided to share it with the world.
“Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength,” she wrote. “Purposeful. Ready. I cried a lot. I tried to even make a video instead of this post and couldn’t.”
Continued Thurston:
“But one thing I did early on was search [for] other stories like mine. Other young women with breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma. Mastectomy. Pregnancy after breast cancer. All of their stories helped. So I intend to be the same for others.”
This past June, Thurston opened up about having been raped in the past. She’s been through a lot in her young life.
“This is day one of sharing and is going to be a long one,” Thurston wrote. “This first step of acceptance of my reality was the hardest. But I am ready to fight this.”
The former Bachelorette wrapped up her post by thanking her “extraordinary husband to be,” writing that she had “saved the best for last” and stating of Acuri:
I don’t know how I’d do this without you. The selfless love that you smother me in is beyond anything I imagined I’d be blessed with. I love you to the fullest in this lifetime and the next.”
Thurston advanced far on Matt James’ season of The Bachelor… prior to being named the lead of her own Bachelorette season a short time later.
She got engaged to Blake Moynes to conclude her season and then dated another contestant after that engagement ended.
In a separate Instagram post over the weekend, Thurston said she is “waiting on learning what stage” of cancer she has, detailing:
“Getting another biopsy on my lymph node, which will tell me more. I once did a 23andMe [DNA test] and was informed I did not have the BRCA gene. I’ll be doing updated testing soon to know for sure. My family doesn’t have a history of breast cancer.”
In addition to chemotherapy, Thurston also plans to undergo a mastectomy.
“Not sure on the order yet,” she explained. “My fertility will be impacted by chemo. I have an appointment with my fertility doctor to preserve my eggs [first].”
