Katie Thurston has been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer.
After announcing the harrowing news that she had cancer last month, The Bachelorette star has discovered that her breast cancer has since spread to her liver.
On Friday, March 28 — just five days after she married comedian Jeff Arcuri — Katie uploaded an Instagram Reel detailing her updated diagnosis.
The 34-year-old reality TV personality told her followers that after “days of waiting,” she was informed that her breast cancer had spread to her liver.
Her scans detected some spots on her liver that were “a little suspicious.”
Kati followed up with a liver biopsy to see if her cancer had spread, and that’s when she received the news that it indeed had.
Katie is feeling ‘very optimistic’ ahead of chemotherapy
“It is fairly small,” Katie shared. “However, it does put me at stage four.”
Katie plans to start treatment next Friday, which will involve chemotherapy.
She remains “very optimistic” about her outcome and is “very confident” in her medical team at Columbia hospital in New York.
Katie explains her treatment plan
During an Instagram Story Q&A, Katie encouraged her fans and followers to “Ask away” regarding her cancer diagnosis and associated treatment.
She explained treating her liver cancer would be “essentially the same” treatment prescribed for her breast cancer.
“The cancer that is within the liver is from the breast cancer spreading vs a new type of cancer,” she explained. “So in basic terms, my breast cancer is the root and will be the focus.”
Katie anticipates undergoing six rounds of chemotherapy to start.
And, as a measure to help preserve her hair while undergoing chemo (which is known to cause hair loss), Katie will be cold-capping.
Her hospital works with DigniCap, a company that performs scalp cooling to reduce hair loss.
As DigniCap explains on its website, “Reduced temperature results in a decreased blood flow to the scalp area so that less chemotherapy reaches the hair cells.”
Katie says she isn’t ‘scared’ one bit
More of Katie’s followers were curious about how her diagnosis has affected her emotional well-being.
Katie admitted that in the long term, “a lot will change” for her.
But in the meantime, she’s been “both pleased and disappointed” by who has reached out to her and who hasn’t.
“Some people are simply a season. Thank them for their time and move onward,” she wrote.
And, when it comes to the range of emotions she’s feeling, Katie rated being scared, sad, in pain, tired, and ready for what’s ahead of her.
Katie scored being scared at zero, sad at seven, in pain at five, tired at 10, and ready at 100.
The Bachelorette is currently on hiatus on ABC.