Katie Thurston Shares She's in Menopause Amid Cancer Journey
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Originally appeared on E! Online
Katie Thurston is showing a glimpse into her ongoing cancer battle.
Nearly three months after The Bachelorette alum announced that she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, which has since progressed to stage four, she shared insight into the effects her treatment has had on her body.
"I slept like s--t because I'm now in medically induced menopause, which means I get hot flashes," Katie explained in a May 6 video on her Instagram Story. "My medicine makes me so dehydrated. My lips have been chapped for what feels like two weeks straight."
With the reality star—who starred in season 17 of the dating competition—undergoing cancer treatment, which has included hormone therapy, she shared that staying hydrated is more essential than ever.
"It's this game of catch up and trying to make sure I get enough water, which I was already bad at before medication," Katie admitted. "Now, it's like a true task every day to force myself to consume water."
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Although the 34-year-old—who tied the knot with Jeff Arcuri earlier this year—has taken her diagnosis in stride, she shared the harsh realities of a cancer diagnosis.
"There is this constant measurement of time of like, 'OK, how long do people take this medication for? How long until my next scan to see what's happening?'" she explained on Emmanuel Acho's podcast Uncomfortable Conversations last month. "It's so confusing because, truly, we are all dying."
"Every day is a gift, but there's something so heavy about a diagnosis that makes you feel like you're constantly looking over your shoulder," she continued. "I just want to feel mentally at peace to be able to live."
With Katie and Jeff navigating this difficult chapter, they decided to freeze their embryos ahead of her treatments. However, like most IVF journeys, it had been a complicated experience.
Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images
"I thought I'd share the outcome of embryo freezing," she wrote on her Instagram Stories in March. "We retrieved 17 eggs and attempted to fertilize them. Of the 17, only six were successfully fertilized. But then they have to make it to the blastocyst stage. Only three made it. And after genetic testing, we have two embryos we were able to freeze, one Grade B and one Grade C. This is the reality of IVF."
She shared that they have considered the possibility of surrogacy in the future.
"Jeff and I discussed the importance of my health and that when the time comes, surrogacy will likely be the best option for us," she explained on her Instagram. "A friendly reminder to stop judging celebrities who pursue surrogacy because you don't know what they have going on in their personal lives."
For a closer look at Katie's ongoing cancer battle, keep reading.
On What Led Katie Thurston to Get Checked
Katie Thurston first grew concerned when she discovered a small lump in her breast during the summer of 2024.
"I discovered it myself," The Bachelorette alum wrote on her Instagram Stories in February 2025. "Thought maybe it was my period. Maybe it was muscle soreness from working out."
Because Katie had a benign cyst removed from that same breast when she was 20, she assumed this new lump was something similar. But after it didn't go away, she decided to get it checked out.
"Went to the doc thinking it was going to be nothing," she continued. "I was wrong."
On How Katie Thurston Learned of Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis
First, Katie's doctor referred her to a specialist to get a breast ultrasound. Then, she had a mammogram.
"After then getting the mammogram, they wanted me to do a biopsy," Katie explained in a March 18, 2025 Instagram video. "Only then can they confirm if it's breast cancer. I think my appointment was February 5. And then by February 13th, I got the official call that it was indeed breast cancer."
And she'll never forget the moment she first got the news.
It was "the worst feeling I've ever felt," the reality star, who noted her family doesn't have a history of breast cancer, shared on Good Morning America March 19, 2025. "You're just devastated. You're so devastated. It's so shocking. As a 34-year-old woman, you're not prepared."
Katie informed her fans of her stage 3 diagnosis on February 15, 2025.
"I experienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks," she wrote on Instagram. "Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful. Ready. I cried a lot."
And she expressed her intent to document her journey in the hope of helping others.
"One thing I did early on was search other stories like mine," she continued. "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 is day one of sharing and is going to be a long one. This first step of acceptance of my reality was the hardest. But I am ready to fight this."
On Katie Thurston's Fertility Journey
News of Katie's diagnosis came five months after she got engaged to Jeff Arcuri, a comedian she met through Instagram in the spring of 2024.
"We thought we'd be planning a wedding," the TV personality continued on GMA. "We thought we'd be trying for a baby. Instead, we know that this year is really dedicated to treatment and getting better."
So, Katie and Jeff decided to freeze their embryos in case her cancer treatments affected her fertility. The FBoy Island star and the comedian documented their experience in mid-March and gave fans an update at the end of that month.
"I thought I'd share the outcome of embryo freezing," she wrote on her Instagram Stories March 31, 2025. "We retrieved 17 eggs and attempted to fertilize them. Of the 17, only 6 were successfully fertilized. But then they have to make it to the blastocyst stage. Only three made it. And after genetic testing, we have 2 embryos we were able to freeze, one Grade B and one Grade C. This is the reality of IVF."
Katie has also spoken about the possibility of using a surrogate down the line.
"Jeff and I discussed the importance of my health and that when the time comes, surrogacy will likely be the best option for us," she wrote on her Instagram Stories. "A friendly reminder to stop judging celebrities who pursue surrogacy because you don't know what they have going on in their personal lives."
However, Katie told GMA she and Jeff are "also OK being a childless couple."
On Katie Thurston & Jeff Arcuri's Decision to Marry Amid Her Cancer Battle
Katie and Jeff also moved forward with their plans to wed by tying the knot on March 22, 2025 in New York, the bride having made the cross-country move after months of dating long-distance.
"It was so so sweet," she told Us Weekly about their decision to have a ceremony, sharing it took place in the backyard of their apartment with their parents, officiant friend and newly adopted dog Charlie in attendance. "Obviously, we were wanting to plan a wedding and there's a lot of emotions that come in with chemo and the impact and the health. We don't know what the next year looks like. And one night he said, 'I want to show you that I still love you and that I'm here to stay.' And he said, 'I'll get married to you tomorrow.'"
And while Katie noted they plan to have a big wedding in the future, she added that Jeff's gesture was him "proving that he's here to stay" in sickness and in health.
For the groom, there was also a practical element to saying "I do" in addition to wanting to take this next step as a couple.
"I also just want to be able to be in the hospital with her and just be like, 'My wife's in there,'" he told the outlet. "There's more power to that. I don't want to be not with you for any of this."
On Katie Thurston's Cancer Metastasizing
Less than a week after Jeff and Katie became husband and wife, she shared that a PET scan detected "some spots" on her liver and that her cancer is now stage 4.
"I know stage 4 can sound very scary and it can be," she said in an Instagram video March 28, 2025. "But given that I am triple-positive and the spots on my liver are fairly small and detected early, I feel very optimistic on my outcome."
On Katie Thurston's Treatment Plan
After receiving her stage 4 diagnosis, Katie gave an update on her treatment plan.
"The plan is essentially the same as my breast cancer," she wrote on her Instagram stories at the end of March 2025. "The cancer that is within the liver is from the breast cancer. So in basic terms, my breast cancer is the root and will be the focus. Six rounds of chemotherapy to start."
But right before Katie was scheduled to begin this treatment, she received an update.
"Today I was supposed to start chemo," she wrote on Instagram April 4, 2025. "I had my cold cap, my cold socks, snacks, blankets, medications, entertainment ready. My aunt Lindsey flew in to be with me this weekend for recovery. However, yesterday I got the call that my pathology results on my liver, breast, and lymph nodes all came back as HER2 Negative even though my original samples as Kaiser were HER2+. I was minutes away from taking my steroid for chemo prep. Instead I am headed to my doctor to discuss how this happened, what testing is needed, and what this means for my new treatment plan."
As a result, Katie noted it "sounds like chemo is off the table now."
"I should be excited about that," she added. "But in two months, I've continued to get an updated diagnosis three times. I think thoroughness and getting a second medical opinion has been instrumental in my early cancer stage journey."
On Katie Thurston's Message for Others
As Katie continues her fight against cancer, she's taking things day by day.
"Sometimes I think 'wtf is my life?'" she wrote on her Boobie Broadcast channel March 31, 2025. "But whether I like it or not, this is my life and I have to make the best of it. They say live like you're dying, but now that I am, it's easier said than done. And don't get me wrong, every day, we are all closer to death. Not in a morbid way but in the undeniable circle of life. So cancer or not, I am blessed with today. So while I have sad moments or days, I want to do my best to cherish my time, cancer or not."
And she's sending her followers an important reminder.
"Don't wait. Be proactive. Get checked out," Katie said on Good Morning America. "You could be doing yourself a favor in the future."
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