While enjoying her last few moments in Greece on vacation with her husband, comedian Jeff Arcuri, former Bachelorette star Katie Thurston took to Instagram to share a life update.
In the three-minute long video, Thurston revealed she is preparing for a “big check-in scan” on July 7. The check-in is “to see how the meds are working with my tumor, the good news would be either no growth or even shrinkage.”
“We go home today, and oftentimes when I’m entering back into reality of cancer, that’s when things kind of start to hit,” Thurston explained. “When those monthly scans or appointments come and go, I allow myself the next 28 days to really forget that I have cancer.”
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Thurston said being diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer has forced her to “shift” how she thinks. “My oncologist never told me how much time I have left, and I’ve never asked.”
“Stage 4 is a very scary mentality at times, because it is forever,” Thurston explained, adding that she continues to do her best to seek out all of the blessings in her life.
While sharing that her skin biopsies came back benign and that she and Jeff were upgraded during their stay in Greece, “a part of me was like, ‘Thank you. Thank you, God, Thank you universe for these blessings and everything you’ve given me today.’”
“But there’s a small part of me that like feels like a dog before it dies, gets this, like, this big boost, you know,” Thurston shared as she grew emotional. “I’m not trying to even make this like a sad video. I’m just being honest that cancer is very much like a trained lifestyle at this point.”
The 34-year-old added that it is up to people to decide how they want to live their life and for Thurston, especially while vacationing in Greece, “I enjoyed wine. I enjoyed the sugars, you know, the desserts. I enjoyed the memories that I’m making. Because what’s the point of not living when you’re given today? You know, when you’re given life?”
“And that’s how I feel like every day, I’m just like, ‘Thank you.’ Every night I go to bed, I’m like, ‘Thank you for giving me today.’”
Thurston first announced she was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2025. “Life update: I have breast cancer. Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentine’s Day celebrations. I felt envious if I’m being honest,” she said, at the time.
“Jeff took me to Hawaii and after, we were going to travel the world before planting roots together in NYC finally. But instead, my Vday was spent coordinating a place to live as I have to go back to LA for more testing and treatment.”
