‘Picked Me Up Off the Floor’: ‘Bachelorette’ Star Katie Thurston, 34, Says While Adjusting to Life With Metastatic Breast Cancer, It Became Easier When Other Survivors Lifted Her Up
‘Picked Me Up Off the Floor’: ‘Bachelorette’ Star Katie Thurston, 34, Says While Adjusting to Life With Metastatic Breast Cancer, It Became Easier When Other Survivors Lifted Her Up
Finding Support to Help You Through Your Cancer Journey
Katie Thurston, 34, known from “The Bachelorette,” has shared how metastatic breast cancer has upended her life since her diagnosis at the beginning of the year and its impact on her personally and professionally.
Despite the hardships, she has found strength and comfort in a sisterhood of fellow breast cancer patients in New York City, who support her through the journey. Thurston’s Instagram posts—showing pill cases on the subway and thanking her “warrior” friends—sparked heartfelt responses from followers who praised her resilience and community.
A cancer diagnosis often brings overwhelming emotions, making early support from family, friends, or mental health professionals essential. Psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik advises patients to seek additional support if needed, choose experienced professionals, and keep their care team connected.
Recently, Thurston shared that her tumor is continuing to shrink following her six-month scan, a hopeful sign in her stage 4 breast cancer treatment journey that her current treatment is working.
Originally scheduled for a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts), Thurston has chosen to delay the procedure after consulting with her doctors, citing the need to stay on medication without interruption.
While some patients believe a double mastectomy offers the best protection, experts emphasize that survival rates are similar between mastectomy and lumpectomy with radiation, depending on individual factors like tumor size, genetic mutations, and cancer location.
“Bachelorette” star Katie Thurston, 34, has faced a life-altering start to the year after learning she has metastatic breast cancer. The grueling realities of treatment have touched every corner of her world—personally and professionally. Yet amid the upheaval, Thurston has found an unexpected source of strength: a sisterhood of women also living with breast cancer, who share hard-earned wisdom and compassion for the journey ahead.
“Moving to New York City shortly after my breast cancer diagnosis was hard,” she reflected on Instagram. “But slowly I’ve met amazing sisters who picked me up off the floor as I learned what my new life would look like.”
In an Instagram video, Thurston and her friend gleefully show off their cute pill cases while on a New York subway.
“Things are different, but I do my best to keep living and enjoying whatever moments I have,” Thurston added and topped off her social media post by thanking one of her fellow breast cancer warriors she’s befriended in New York.
Instagram user Bonnie commented on Thurston’s post, saying, “This has me so teary…I love that you have each other for support and friendship.”
“I just started Letrozole (a hormone therapy used in breast cancer treatment) tonight, and I’ll start my Kisqali tomorrow morning. I was SO excited to use my cute new pill case,” Instagram user Ambrosia Nicole wrote.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – OCTOBER 09: Katie Thurston attends The Pink Agenda Annual New York City Gala at Tribeca Rooftop on October 09, 2025, in New York City. (Photo by Noam Galai/Getty Images for The Pink Agenda)
“I love that you have met some amazing warriors to go through this journey with,” Instagram user Gabrielle said.
She recently shared that her tumor is “shrinking.”
Thurston had been preparing for a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts) next month, but the encouraging results have led her to postpone the procedure. After consulting with her medical team, she explained, “Major surgery requires pausing medication for an extended period of time.”
Thurston first revealed her diagnosis in February 2025, announcing she had stage 3 triple-positive ductal carcinoma—a rare and aggressive subtype of luminal breast cancer. According to Cancer Cell International, “Triple-positive breast cancer (TPBC), a unique subtype of luminal breast cancer, is characterized by concurrent positivity for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2).”
(@thekatiethurston/Instagram)
This subtype accounts for only 5–10% of all breast cancer cases and typically requires a multi-pronged treatment approach, including chemotherapy, HER2-targeted therapy, and hormone (endocrine) therapy.
Having Support Matters
A cancer diagnosis can unleash a flood of emotions, often making the early days of the journey the hardest to navigate. During this time, having a strong support system can make all the difference. That support may come from close family and friends—or, for some, from professionals outside their inner circle.
“Some people don’t need to go outside their family and friends circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” explains New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik. “But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it is important to reach out to a mental health professional.”
WATCH: Seeking Support: The First 3 Things to Do After a Cancer Diagnosis
Supporters can help ease stress and anxiety after diagnosis and even advocate for you during treatment.
For patients who may not have a group of friends or family close by to support them, a mental health professional may be equally as helpful.
“Make sure that the mental health professional you work with is reaching out—with your consent—to the rest of your team, including your oncologist, surgeon, family, friends, and any caretakers involved in your treatment,” Dr. Plutchik advises.
She recommends cancer patients take three key steps to strengthen their support system:
Step 1: Seek additional support if you need it—whether through a therapist or a support group.
Step 2: Choose a mental health professional experienced in helping people facing cancer.
Step 3: Keep your care team connected, from loved ones to doctors to your therapist.
Although Thurston’s double mastectomy (removal of both breasts) is delayed, eventually she expects to have it. When it comes to breast cancer surgery, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. Choosing between a lumpectomy and a mastectomy is a deeply personal decision—one that depends on a range of medical and emotional factors.
“As a breast surgeon, my job is to help patients understand that their long-term survival with mastectomy is equivalent to that with lumpectomy and radiation,” says Dr. Sarah Cate, Chief of Breast Surgery at Stamford Hospital.
Still, many women request a double mastectomy (removal of both breasts), believing it offers the best protection against recurrence. But that’s not always the case. The size of the tumor, its genetic profile, and a patient’s family history all play a role in determining the most appropriate surgical path.
WATCH: Should I Have a Lumpectomy or Mastectomy?
“Mastectomy has very specific indications,” Dr. Cate explains.
“Some of the things that would predict a mastectomy are things like a large tumor size to breast ratio, or having cancer in more than one area of the breast, or having a genetic mutation.”
Katie Thurston, who recently shared her breast cancer journey publicly, is preparing for a double mastectomy. While this procedure is often part of treatment, it’s also used preventatively for women at high risk of developing breast cancer.
“A double mastectomy typically takes about two hours for the cancer part of the operation, the removal of the tissue,” says Dr. Elisa Port, Chief of Breast Surgery at Mount Sinai Health System.
“The real length, the total length of the surgery, can often depend on what type of reconstruction [a patient] has.”
WATCH: What Goes Into a Double Mastectomy
Today, most women choose to undergo some form of reconstruction, which can significantly extend the duration of surgery—especially when tissue is transferred from another part of the body.
“When you take tissue from another part of the body and transfer it to fill in the empty space where the breasts are, this is a very long operation,” Dr. Port says.
“It can take anywhere from six to 12 hours because it’s really like having a tummy tuck and then transferring the tissue and grafting the tissue, connecting the vessels, so those tissues have blood flow to live in,” Dr. Port adds.
For women with a strong family history or a known genetic mutation—such as BRCA1 or BRCA2—the decision to undergo a preventative mastectomy may be the most effective way to reduce their risk.
“Risk-reducing mastectomies are an operation where we take women at, usually, very high risk for getting breast cancer,” Dr. Port explains. “For genetic mutation carriers, who are the ones at the highest risk, there’s unfortunately only one way to actually prevent breast cancer.”
WATCH: Getting a Preventive Mastectomy
Women who test positive for a BRCA mutation typically face two options.
“One is what’s called high-risk surveillance, which means we check them every six months or so—mammograms, MRIs—with the hope that if, God forbid, they develop breast cancer, we pick it up early,” Dr. Port says. “But that’s not prevention, that’s early detection.”
“Early detection is a goal, it’s not a guarantee. For the woman who wants to be more proactive about actually preventing breast cancer, or as we say, reducing her risk, unfortunately, the only way to do that is to remove the actual tissue at risk, and that is the breast tissue,” she adds.
Katie’s Ongoing Treatment
Thurston previously shared that her 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.
Treatment Options for Advanced Breast Cancer
Metastatic breast cancer (also called stage 4) means cancer cells have spread from the breast to other parts of the body, which may include the bones, liver, lungs, brain, and beyond.
Breast cancer spreads through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. The blood carries cancer cells to different body parts, where they grow as new tumors.
As the cancer spreads to other body parts, patients may experience additional symptoms depending on where the cancer has spread. Examples include:
Bones: Severe bone pain or fractures
Lungs: Difficulty breathing, chest pain, new cough
Liver: Yellowing of the skin (jaundice), abdominal pain, nausea, and/or vomiting
Brain: Headaches, memory loss, changes in vision, seizures
WATCH: Treatment options for metastatic breast cancer.
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.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you’re facing the option of having a mastectomy, here are some questions to consider asking your doctor:
What can I do to prepare for a double mastectomy?
What happens before and after the procedure?
For reconstruction, what are the benefits of using implants over my own tissue and vice versa?
