Katie Thurston Says Breast Cancer Has Spread To Liver, Is At Stage 4

Transcript

00:00Unfortunately, I did find out today that my breast cancer has spread to the liver.

00:05Katie Thurston is sharing a difficult update amid her cancer battle.

00:09The Bachelorette alum told her Instagram followers on Friday that her cancer is now at stage four.

00:13She shared the news in a video and explained her testing timeline since her original diagnosis six weeks ago.

00:19It's been 43 days since I was first diagnosed with breast cancer, yet I have not started treatment.

00:24Why is that?

00:25You've typically gone through a breast ultrasound, a mammogram, biopsy of the breast, maybe even the lymph nodes.

00:31But unfortunately, it does not stop there.

00:33I had to go through several more tests, including a CT scan, bone density scan, blood work, MRI.

00:40We did not do a PET scan. That'll be important to mention later.

00:43Katie explained that when she was first diagnosed, she was gearing up for a cross-country move.

00:47I already had plans to move to New York, so I just ended up switching over my care from Kaiser in LA to Columbia in New York City.

00:54After transferring my care from LA to New York, I decided to focus on fertility before doing treatment.

00:59I'll do a dedicated video on IVF for another time.

01:01One test that I did not have done at Kaiser that I did get done at Columbia was a PET scan.

01:06What's great about a PET scan is that sometimes it can detect things that some of the other tests did not.

01:10When Katie got the PET scan, it detected another area of concern that doctors looked into.

01:15Unfortunately, in my case, it did detect some spots on my liver that were a little suspicious.

01:19Because of this, I did have to then do a liver biopsy to see if my cancer had spread.

01:25After days of waiting, unfortunately, I did find out today that my breast cancer has spread to the liver.

01:31It is fairly small. However, that does put me at stage four.

01:35Next week, Katie is set to start her new treatment plan, which involves chemotherapy.

01:39And she shared that she's feeling hopeful.

01:41I know stage four can sound very scary, and it can be.

01:45However, given that I am triple positive and the spots on my liver are fairly small and detected early,

01:52I feel very optimistic on my outcome.

01:55I'm very confident in the team at Columbia, and I just wanted to share that update.

02:00The comment section of Katie's post was quickly filled with well wishes from fans and loved ones, including fellow members of Bachelor Nation.

02:06Susie Evans wrote,

02:07Praying for you, Katie. Frustrated this is taking so long. Sending you love and peace right now.

02:12Ali Fedotowsky-Manno wrote,

02:14You're such a beautiful soul, Katie. You've got this, girl.

02:16While Kaitlyn Bristow shared,

02:18Never prayed harder.

02:19Katie's husband, Jeff Arcuri, whom she married last week, also shared his love for her in the comments.

02:25He wrote, You're the strongest woman I know. We got this.