The Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston has shared a major update in her battle with Stage 4 breast cancer.
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Katie announced she had made a $610 donation to breast cancer research, explaining that each dollar represented one day of her life since receiving her cancer diagnosis.
"So because of you, I'm here," Katie told the audience, crediting cancer research for her progress.
"For the first time, today, in public, I am currently no evidence of disease."
Katie was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2025, and she later learned the disease had progressed to Stage 4.
The former The Bachelorette star reportedly broke down in tears during her speech as she recalled receiving her diagnosis while planning her wedding to comedian Jeff Arcuri.
"February 13th, 2025 is when I got the call that I was diagnosed with breast cancer," Katie recalled.
"And at a time we thought we'd be planning our wedding, trying on wedding dresses -- instead I had to decide where I'd be for my care."
Katie has been open about her cancer journey since announcing her diagnosis, sharing details about her treatment plan, including a double mastectomy, as well as the emotional toll of battling the disease.
Katie previously revealed she had begun taking antidepressants to help manage her mental health.
During her speech, Katie admitted she initially feared she was going to die after learning her cancer had reached Stage 4.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELORETTE' COUPLES NOW"When I was first diagnosed as stage four, I thought it was going to be the end of my life. I had no idea what kind of options I was going to have, or how long I was going to live," Katie said.
Katie emphasized the importance of continued cancer research, explaining that advancements in treatment have given patients like herself more hope for the future.
"Research is going to give us more treatment options, more clinical trials," Katie explained. "And for someone like myself, more time."
Katie also acknowledged the patients who have lost their battles with cancer after exhausting their available treatment options.
"I'm in this room today because of research, but the one thing I did not realize is how many would not be with us in the room today, because their treatment options ran out," Katie said.
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Earlier this month, Katie took to Instagram and shared details about how her treatment included "injections that suppress my ovaries, an aromatase inhibitor, and a CDK4/6 inhibitor."
Katie said she had to figure out the right "recipe" of those three medications, which resulted in her pausing one or two of them, since her liver was "having issues."
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"I do believe that the cure is within my lifetime for breast cancer. I like to think of my future as optimistic in the future of breast-cancer care. I did just have a recent PET scan and I was really hoping today would be the day that I got no evidence of disease. It's a little gray, as cancer care tends to be."
Katie explained how a PET scan lights up areas where there is cancer and inflammation in the body, and her scan showed a potentially worrisome increase of lights on the right side.
Katie, however, said she didn't know people are supposed to avoid exercise prior to a PET scan and she had played volleyball for hours beforehand. Katie therefore said it's possible the scan could've lit up due inflammation from exercise, not disease.
"It's possible all that serving and hitting made that inflammation happen again," she noted.
"But also, we just had to do what's called an FES scan -- and what that's going to do is it's going to find any uptake of estradiol or hormones, because that's what my cancer feeds off of."
Katie said she had a scan scheduled for October 13, which happens to be Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day.
"I find that very fitting. Overall, all is well and all is stable," she said, before adding, "Hopefully one day I'll get to announce no evidence of active disease, which is what anyone who is stage 4 strives for."
In a subsequent post, Katie revealed that she won't be able to get pregnant with her husband Jeff Arcuri.
"But we also only have 2 embryos, which are never a guarantee. Removal [of my ovaries] was a permanent decision I wasn't ready to make. Instead, I get quarterly injections to suppress them," Katie shared.
RELATED LINK: 'THE BACHELOR' COUPLES NOW: WHO DID 'THE BACHELOR' STARS AND THEIR BACHELORETTE PICKS ACTUALLY END UP MARRYING? (PHOTOS)
Amid Katie's treatment for cancer, she had chin liposuction just for herself.
Katie revealed in July 2026 -- three months after she underwent a double mastectomy -- that she needed a liver biopsy.
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Katie recently said her goal is "turning pain into purpose" by helping other women going through a similar situation.
"My medicine is working. My tumor is shrinking. My energy is coming back and I feel good," Katie shared in a "Grave Conversations" YouTube interview in July.
"Some people like to use the word 'terminal,' but I don't identify with the word 'terminal' because that's such a morbid word. I don't want to think of a timeline over my head."
Katie admitted she was in a "dark depression" for a little bit but she knows she has "a lot to live for," regardless of how much time she has left.
Katie, who competed on Matt James' The Bachelor season before starring on The Bachelorette's seventeenth season, hard launched her relationship with Jeff in June 2024. She announced at the time, "Safe to say he's making it to hometowns next week," which was a nod to her prior The Bachelorette stint in 2021.
Katie and Jeff got engaged in August 2024, and then Katie moved from California to New York for Jeff and her cancer treatments.
Katie and Jeff tied the knot in an intimate backyard wedding in March 2025, and Katie said they'll have a bigger wedding after she beats cancer.
"He is proving that he's here to stay. He shows up every day and he does it in ways that just continue to surprise," Katie gushed to Us Weekly of Jeff last year.
Prior to falling in love with Jeff, Katie had a short-lived engagement to her The Bachelorette 17 winner Blake Moynes.
Katie's The Bachelorette season ended on ABC in August 2021, and then she and Blake -- a Canadian wildlife specialist -- announced their breakup only a couple of months later in October 2021.
Katie then went public with her romance with John Hersey, whom she had eliminated during Week 2 of her The Bachelorette journey, in November 2021. She was accused of moving on from Blake quickly with "a rebound" and emotionally cheating on her ex-fiance.
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After ending her relationship with John, Katie made a cameo on Bachelor in Paradise's ninth season in 2023 and found closure with Blake, who remained her friend post-show.
Katie then she decided to pursue a unique opportunity and look for love on FBoy Island.
Katie had a brief public relationship with FBoy Island's Vince Xu, but Katie announced their breakup in December 2023.
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
