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In February of last year, Katie Thurston revealed that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Shortly thereafter, Thurston revealed that her cancer had reached Stage 4 and spread to multiple other organs, including her liver.
Now, she’s sharing a heartbreaking update on her treatment — and she’s doing so with honesty, strength, and a clear message about what she’s facing.
The former reality star has undergone a double mastectomy, a development she confirmed in a deeply personal update.
Thurston explained that the surgery was a necessary step as part of her treatment, opening up about both the physical and emotional weight of the decision.
“Today is surgery day! Thank you all for your support leading up to this. Your prayers, love, and positive energy have been the embrace I’ve needed over the last year,” she wrote on Instagram this week (via People).
“I still can’t believe I’m at this moment. Surgery is 3 hours. I look forward to waking up on the other side of this!”
Despite the gravity of the situation, Thurston has continued to document her journey and connect with followers, offering a candid look at what she’s going through in real time.
“My cancer candle burns brightly but I crumble on the floor hyperventilating and sobbing. The same way I did when I first got the call it was cancer. Sometimes I’m fine and sometimes I’m just like…damn… I can’t wait to be done with the surgery,” she wrote this week.
“I don’t like these little reminders. But at stage 4, they will always whisper in the background, some days louder with their grasp squeezing my neck,” she continued, adding:
“I pick myself up, and the pieces of my broken heart, and keep pushing on. I am losing pieces of my body and my spirit. Thankful for my friends, my family, my community, my Jeff. My [dog] Charlie. You. Thank you for being here during the hardest chapter of my life.”
The former Bachelorette noted that the procedure marks a major turning point in her cancer journey — one that comes with both uncertainty and resolve as she navigates what lies ahead.
“This beautiful badass just went in for surgery for her double mastectomy,” Katie’s husband, Jeff Arcuri wrote on his Instagram Stories. “She is in amazing hands and spirits are HIGH. I’ll be updating everyone as soon as I can!”
Arcuri later wrote that the surgery went “great.”
Throughout her updates, Katie has made it clear that her focus remains on doing everything possible to extend her life and maintain hope, even in the face of a worrisome diagnosis.
For now, she is recovering from surgery and continuing treatment, taking things one step at a time as she confronts a diagnosis that has already reshaped her life in profound ways.