“The Bachelorette” star Katie Thurston announced she’s planning to undergo a double mastectomy after being diagnosed with stage four breast cancer, according to a recently posted Instagram video.
Katie Thurston’s Battle With Cancer
In the Instagram video, posted on September 19, 2025, Thurston gave her followers an update on her cancer journey. She announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer on February 15, 2025, in another Instagram post. Thurston is 34 years old.
According to Us Weekly, Thurston found a lump in her breast in November, 2024. In late February, 2025, she had a biopsy that indicated her cancer hadn’t metastasized. However, she would later learn this wasn’t true.
One month later, in March 2025, just days after her wedding to comedian Jeff Arcuri, Thurston found out there were spots on her liver. Those spots were cancerous, changing her diagnosis to stage four breast cancer. Throughout this journey, Thurston underwent egg retrieval to ensure she could still have children after her cancer treatment.
Now, Thurston has given new updates on the status of her health. Unfortunately, stage four cancer is a lifetime diagnosis, according to Thurston. She says she’ll be on medication for the rest of her life. In the Instagram video, she expressed fear as to what might happen if her medications stop working.
Recently, Thurston’s medication regiment changed, taking her down from three pills a day to two. Next month, she’ll get a scan to see how much the liver tumor has shrunk. The “Bachelorette” lead is hopeful that the scan will show “no evidence of disease.” If so, she’ll get a double mastectomy.
Katie Thurston’s Reality TV Journey
GettyThurston first rose to fame on “The Bachelor” season 25, where she vied for Matt James’s heart. She was unfortunately sent home on a date after James realized he couldn’t see Thurston as his wife. Luckily, the brunette was given a second chance at love when she became the lead of “The Bachelorette” season 17.
Although Thurston did fall in love on “The Bachelorette,” accepting a proposal from Blake Moynes, the relationship didn’t last. On October 25, 2021, Thurston announced she and Blake broke up, according to E! News.
After that, Thurston tried again to find love on reality TV by appearing on The CW’s “F Boy Island,” hosted by Nikki Glaser. Thurston chose nice-guy Vince Xu over fellow comedian Benedict Polizzi, although the relationship was short-lived.
Later, Thurston met Arcuri in April 2024 on the internet, according to Us Weekly. They got engaged just a few months later, in August 2024.
