Katie Thurston Doesn’t Recognize Herself Amid ‘Dwindling’ Health

Season 17 Bachelorette star Katie Thurston is one of the most candid and outspoken alums in the franchise. She gained attention from viewers when she was on Season 25 of The Bachelor for her unwavering honesty and openness. She continued to display those traits during her season of The Bachelorette and beyond.

Her journey to finding a husband was riddled with several very public failed relationships, including with former fiance Blake Moynes. However, she began dating comedian Jeff Arcuri last year. She kept the new romance private for a three-month waiting period. But when you know, you know. The couple got engaged in the summer of 2024 during a romantic getaway to Hawaii. They had so many plans for the future, including traveling the world before settling down and possibly starting a family.

But those plans and dreams came crashing down earlier this year. After finding a lump in her breast, Katie Thurston was diagnosed with breast cancer at just 34 years old. Instead of retreating from the public eye, the former reality star used her platform to raise awareness about breast cancer and all that treating it entails.

Shortly after the cancer diagnosis, Katie Thurston froze some of her embryos, saving at least one of her dreams. She also fulfilled her dream of marrying Jeff Arcuri. They tied the knot in March in an intimate ceremony.

In the latest update about her cancer, Katie Thurston admits she doesn’t recognize herself amid ‘dwindling’ health.

Katie Thurston Pens Emotional Letter To Herself

Katie Thurston created the Boobie Broadcast channel on Instagram to share her cancer journey with all of her followers at once. In her latest update, she revealed that she wrote a letter to herself about the cancer battle is over.

“I forced myself to write a letter to me today,” she revealed. “From future me who has no evidence of disease. Who has light in her eyes and her heart. An excitement for life and whatever is next.”

She went on to share the struggle to give herself grace. “4 months since my diagnosis so I should give my healing self (mentally and physically) some grace,” she wrote. However, she said that the cancer battle feels like it’s been going on for a year. But she still can’t bring herself to touch the breast with the cancerous lump.

Katie Thurston has mentioned several times that she goes back to the doctor for scans next month to see if the cancer treatment is working yet. She is on a protocol of oral medication and a monthly hormone-blocking injection. She recently revealed that the injection isn’t working so they have to try another one.

Bachelorette Star Doesn’t Recognize Herself Amid ‘Dwindling’ Health

Cancer is hard on the body, and so is the treatment, whether it’s chemo or oral medication. Katie Thurston has shared many of the horrible side effects of the cancer battle, including memory loss. The Bachelorette star also is losing clumps of her hair.

In her recent update, she got candid about what she sees when she looks in the mirror. “Did my hair and makeup today,” she wrote, “Yet somehow I don’t recognize myself. It’s me, but different.”

She wondered, “Is it my emotions reflecting in the mirror? Is it my health dwindling away?”

The reality star continued, “Maybe it’s just a bad hair day as I adjust to my new norm. Maybe it’s my stubby lashes that won’t grow. Or my cracked bleeding lips.”

It sounds like Katie Thurston is struggling with a lot right now. But she pushes through to share the good and bad of the cancer battle to bring awareness to the reality of the situation.