‘Bachelorette’ Star Katie Thurston Is Seeking Support Through Antidepressants & Therapy Amid Ongoing Breast Cancer Fight

According to the National Alliance On Mental Illness, this Wellbutrin is approved for the treatment of a serious mental health condition called major depressive disorder (MDD), a type of depression known as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and to help people quit smoking.

Thurston’s Instagram story, according to People, read, “Having a mental health glow up this summer. On .onth 2 of Wellbutrin.

“Next on the list, a therapist that I like.”

RELATED: Check Out SurvivorNet’s Resources on Mental Health

“A cancer diagnosis flips your world upside down,” it continued. “I like to say, ‘I’m learning to dance with my ghosts.'”

However, this isn’t the first time Thurston has taken an antidepressant. Her health update comes about four years after the reality TV star admitted to taking antidepressants to help her get “out of a dark place,” People reported.

She said on Instagram, in January 2022, “To those who continue to show kindness, thank you. Last year somehow feels like 3 years of highs and lows. I remember a producer texting me saying ‘the old Katie is dead and the new Katie will rise from the ashes.’

RELATED: ‘Bachelorette’ Star Katie Thurston Shares a List of Kind Gestures That’s Been Helpful During Cancer Treatment. How to Help a Loved One Along Their Journey

“He was right about one thing. The old Katie did in fact die. But I was not some girl on fire. If anything, the sparks I once felt for life were doused with the judgement and criticism of not only strangers, but even ones I worked closely with.”

She added, “I was drowning in my tears, unable to even recognize the girl in the mirror. I started taking antidepressants for the first time before my season aired.”

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Thurston (@thekatiethurston)

Katie’s Ongoing Breast Cancer Treatment Journey

When it comes to Thurston’s ongoing battle with HR+/HER2‑ metastatic breast cancer, she recently underwent a double mastectomy, and her ongoing treatment regimen includes three key medications:

• Kisqali (ribociclib): Approved by the FDA in 2017, this targeted therapy is used in combination with endocrine therapy to treat HR+/HER2- breast cancer. It works by slowing the progression of cancer, offering a more tolerable alternative to traditional chemotherapy.
• Lupron (leuprolide): A hormone therapy injection that lowers estrogen levels in the body, helping to prevent the cancer from growing.
• Letrozole: An aromatase inhibitor that reduces the body’s estrogen production, commonly used in postmenopausal women with hormone-sensitive breast cancer.

Remember, although stage 4 breast cancer is not curable, several treatment options exist that can extend the life of patients.

Treatment options depend on the stage, type of primary breast cancer, and whether hormone receptors are positive.

Treatment can include a combination of:

• Chemotherapy: Oral or IV medications that are toxic to tumor cells
• Hormonal therapies: Drugs that lower estrogen levels or block estrogen receptors from allowing the cancer cells to grow
• Targeted therapies: Drugs that target your tumor’s specific gene mutations
• Immunotherapy: Medications that stimulate your immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells
• Radiation: The use of high-energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors
• Surgery: To remove a cancerous tumor or lymph nodes (uncommon with stage IV; more common in stages I, II, and III)
• Clinical trials: Studies of new medications, treatments, and other therapies offer hope for better outcomes.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Katie Thurston (@thekatiethurston)

Managing Your Mental Health

Our mental health affects how we think, feel, and behave. Certain triggers like stress, traumatic events, or changes in your physical health can affect your mental health.

Psychiatrist Dr. Samantha Boardman suggests people working on their mental health to practice positive psychology.

Positive psychology focuses on encouraging feelings of positivity among patients and finding what brings a sense of vitality to their lives.

WATCH: Managing your mental health amid a health challenge.

Dr. Boardman also suggests asking yourself some questions about how you deal with stressful situations to see if they’re working or need adjusting.

“Are your coping strategies in the way that you’re using them now are they as effective as they were in the past? Take a look at your beliefs, do you have any fixed beliefs that are counterproductive that are impeding you from taking positive steps?” Dr. Boardman said.

To keep your mental health in check, it’s important to be aware of signs that can be subtle that something is affecting your mind. These signs include:

• A change in eating or sleeping habits
• Losing interest in people or usual activities
• Experiencing little or no energy
• Numb and/or hopeless feelings
• Turning to drink or drugs more than usual
• Non-typical angry, upset, or on-edge feelings
• Yelling/fighting with loved ones
• Experiencing mood swings
• Intrusive thoughts
• Trouble getting through daily tasks

If you find yourself struggling in any of these areas, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional to begin your emotional journey alongside your other cancer treatment.

“Depression and stress make it harder to treat cancer [and] make it harder to tolerate the treatments,” Dr. Scott Irwin, director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.

“There’s data that if you have extra stress or depression that you may not recover or you have a higher risk of recurrence, so in treating the depression, we’re actually impacting the cancer care outcomes,” Dr. Irwin added.

A Possible Link Between Your Emotional Health and Your Genetics

If you are struggling to maintain positive thoughts related to your outlook on life amid your cancer journey, a genetic test could help you find the right solution.

Genetic testing is successful in matching patients with the right medication to offset bouts of anxiety or depression.

“This test covers all of the psych medications, essentially, and it also covers pain medications. It’s such a great test,” Dr. Lori Plutchik, licensed psychiatrist and co-founder of Caring For Caregivers, previously told SurvivorNet.

WATCH: How genetic testing can aid your mental health.

“Depression affects about 20% of women at some point in their life and about 10% of men at some point in their life. That’s a very prevalent illness, and then when you’re working in the cancer population, which I’ve worked in extensively over the years, depression can be up to 50% in patients who are having impairments in their life due to their illness,” Dr. Plutchik continued.

The test that Dr. Plutchik uses, Genomind, looks for multiple factors before determining the medication that will both have successful results and minimal side effects.

RELATED: How to Fix Relationships When Depression Hits – A Survivor’s Guide

To do this, there are two parts the test examines. First, the doctor will test for certain genes that are associated with responses to a medication commonly prescribed for mental health issues. Secondly, the patient’s ability to metabolize medication will be tested. Doing this reduces the chance of negative side effects and allows patients to respond well to medication on the first try.

“About 95% of the time the first medication that I choose for them ends up being the right medication,” Dr. Plutchik explained.

RELATED: Podcaster Alix Earl, 25, Whose Mom Is Battling Breast Cancer, Takes Drug Lexapro For Anxiety: ‘It Really Did Help Me’

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you find yourself struggling with a diagnosis or helping a loved one cope with their emotions, consider asking your doctor the following questions:

• How can I go about improving my outlook/mental health?
• Are there any activities I can do to encourage positive feelings?
• When should I seek other interventions if I’m still struggling?
• What are the steps to finding a different therapist if the one I’m using is not working out?

If you are battling cancer or helping a loved one manage it, please take advantage of SurvivorNet’s My Health Questions AI-powered tool.

It is designed to support patients with everyday questions and treatment options.

Helpful Information About Breast Cancer Screening

It’s important to understand when women should begin screening for this disease.

The medical community has a consensus that women between 45 and 54 have annual mammograms. However, an independent panel of experts called the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is saying that women should start getting mammograms every other year at the age of 40, suggesting that this lowered the age for breast cancer screening could save 19% more lives. For women aged 55 and older, the American Cancer Society recommends getting a mammogram every other year. However, women in this age group who want added reassurance can still get annual mammograms.

Women with a strong family history of breast cancer, have dense breasts, have a genetic mutation known to increase the risk of breast cancer, such as a BRCA gene mutation, or a medical history, including chest radiation therapy before age 30, are considered at higher risk for breast cancer.

WATCH: Understanding the BRCA gene mutation

Experiencing menstruation at an early age (before 12) or having dense breasts can also put you into a high-risk category. If you are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer, you should begin screening earlier.

Breast density is determined through mammograms. However, women with dense breasts are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer because dense breast tissue can mask potential cancer during screening. 3D mammograms, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, and molecular breast imaging are options for women with dense breasts for a more precise screening. It is important to ask your doctor about your breast density and cancer risk.

Family History & Breast Cancer Risk

Although breast cancer can happen to anyone, certain factors can increase a person’s risk of getting the disease. The known risk factors for breast cancer include:

• Older age
• Having a gene mutation such as the BRCA1 or BRCA2
• Added exposure to estrogen
• Having children after the age of 30
• Exposure to radiation early in life
• Family history of the disease

Different types of genetic testing can help people with a family history of cancer better ascertain their cancer risks.

Your doctor will discuss your family history of cancer with you in the context of your type of tumor and your age at diagnosis. Hereditary genetic testing is usually done with a blood or saliva test.

About ten percent of breast cancers are hereditary, says Dr. Ophira Ginsburg, Director of the High-Risk Cancer Program at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

“We encourage only those with a family history to get [genetic testing],” Dr. Ginsburg previously told SurvivorNet. “I would say that if you have anyone in your family diagnosed with a rare cancer. Or if you have a strong family history of one or two kinds of cancer, particularly breast and ovarian, but also colon, rectal, uterine, and ovarian cancer, that goes together in another cancer syndrome called the Lynch Syndrome.

The second test involves the genetic sequencing of your tumor if you’ve been diagnosed with cancer by this point. These genetic changes can be inherited, but most arise during a person’s lifetime. This process usually involves examining a biopsy or surgical specimen of your tumor. This testing can lead to decisions on drugs that might work against your cancer.

“Digital mammography, it turns out, significantly improves the quality of the mammogram… It’s 3D or tomosynthesis mammography,” Dr. Connie Lehman, the chief of the Breast Imaging Division at Massachusetts General Hospital, explains.

“This allows us to find more cancers and significantly reduce our false-positive rate. With digital mammography 3D tomosynthesis, we’re taking thin slices through that breast tissue, like slices of a loaf of bread. We can look at each slice independently rather than trying to see through the entire thickness of the entire loaf of bread. So those thin slices help us find things that were hidden in all the multiple layers,” Dr. Lehman adds.

Additional testing can be considered for dense breasts, depending on a woman’s personal history, preferences, and her physician’s guidance.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

---