“$22,500 and it’s only June” – Katie Thurston reveals her stage 4 cancer battle is intensifying as she confronts cruel backlash over brand deals and shares emotional truth about how she’s funding her fight to survive - suong

Keeping it real.

Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston was diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year and has been keeping followers updated about her treatment journey online.

Katie recently revealed the news that her breast cancer is now at stage 4 and she started a new treatment plan since her cancer isn’t curable, but it is treatable. 

Now, the Bachelor Nation star is responding to critics online about her brand deals and explaining how they help pay for her medical bills. 

On her Instagram Story, Katie clapped back at a comment saying her promotion of products doesn’t seem authentic by sharing that she only promotes items that she actually uses. 

She said, “My job for the last five years has been an ‘influencer.’ This means sharing products I use and love. Regardless of my diagnosis, I’d still be here in 2025, doing what I’ve done since 2020. Some products I share are specific to my needs now in my new chapter… So while you may not like it, there are plenty of newly diagnosed people like me discovering helpful products to navigate our next chapter in life. So yeah, you’re gonna see me promote things I actually use and love in my life.” 

Katie continued, further defending that she only works with brands that align with her life. 

“My management team knows how important it is that I’m working with brands that are authentic to me. Cancer or not. And so a lot of these brands are actually a very widely used product,” she shared. “There are so many different reasons for the products that I’m promoting and I’m just sharing it from an authentic point of view of my life.”

The Bachelor Nation star then revealed that her brand deals have actually been helping pay for her medical bills by sharing a screenshot of a financial summary. 

The screenshot shows the total amount billed by her providers and how much Katie has paid, which is just shy of $22,500, with the caption, “We are only in June.” 

Katie also wrote, “Thank you to the brands I have the opportunity to work with and the people who support me. Shoutout to the $1,300/month I pay to help with my medical bills that I’ll have for the rest of my life as a stage 4 patient.”