Katie Thurston Shares ‘Good News,’ Next Steps After Cancer Diagnosis

Katie Thurston is feeling optimistic after the latest update in her breast cancer journey.

“Good news! My cancer hasn’t metastasize[d],” the former Bachelorette, 34, shared via her Instagram Story on Friday, February 21. Despite the small victory, Thurston noted that the cancer was found in her lymph nodes “as expected.”

Detailing her next steps, she continued, “Two more appointments left in LA before officially moving to NYC March 1st. The anticipated order of things is fertility (egg/embryo freezing), chemo, then surgery.”

Noting that the past week has been “A LOT,” Thurston concluded her post by writing, “I’m so thankful for my family, friends, and community here for helping me make it to my current stage [sic] of mind. Today I feel calm, less scared, and ready.”

Earlier this month, Thurston shocked Bachelor Nation with the news of her breast cancer diagnosis. “I experienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks. Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful. Ready,” she wrote in a lengthy Instagram post on Saturday, February 15. “I cried a lot. I tried to even make a video instead of this post and couldn’t.”

Thurston declared that she’s “ready to fight this” and thanked her fiancé, Jeff Arcuri, for being a pillar of support. “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,” she gushed. “I love you to the fullest in this lifetime and the next.”

She shared more details about her diagnosis via her Instagram Stories that same day, revealing she initially dismissed a “small lump in my breast” as a benign cyst like one she had previously removed. After the spot continued to give her pain, she underwent a mammogram and “had to get multiple biopsies taken and sent off for testing to confirm.” Thurston noted that she was “waiting on learning what stage” her cancer was in.

While navigating her health battle, Thurston has been working on moving to New York City, “ideally near Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center,” she told followers on Tuesday, February 18.

Thurston underwent another biopsy earlier this week, revealing via her Instagram Story on Wednesday, February 19, that the procedure “went much better this time.” She added, “Took lorazepam, explained my last appt struggles and asked for more numbing, and they allowed Jeff to be there holding my hand. Waiting between appointments for the next one.”

The former reality star praised her fiancé once again after Arcuri, 36, postponed his upcoming comedy shows in New Zealand, Australia and Japan to help her instead.

“I was originally planning on moving back to [Washington] to be with my family and start care while Jeff continued his world tour,” she wrote via her Instagram Story on Thursday, February 20. “But he opted to postpone the upcoming dates to be by my side and I’ll forever be so thankful for this selfless act.”