Health
Katie Thurston Reveals Mom’s Breast Cancer Diagnosis Amid Her Own Battle With the Disease
Katie Thurston has been dealt another devastating blow as she reveals that her mom has been diagnosed with breast cancer amid her own battle with the disease.
“Life update: my mom has #breastcancer. I flew to Seattle this weekend to be with her at her first appointment,” Thurston, 35, wrote via Instagram on Monday, January 19. “I want to make sure she is getting proper care and information. I hate that we have to be our biggest advocate but also, it’s what will save your life.”
The former Bachelorette star continued, “Dense breasts need more than a mammogram to screen for cancer and yet somehow my mom had never been referred for further imaging. We are getting more answers today but I believe our own advocacy allowed us to catch this early.”
Thurston added more details regarding her mother’s diagnosis in a carousel of photos.
“My mom was diagnosed with breast cancer a few weeks ago. But it wasn’t her doctors who discovered it,” she explained. “She just had her mammogram in December where her results said ‘negative’ and ‘probably benign.’”
Several members of Bachelor Nation flooded her comments section with words of support.
“I’m glad she has you, keep advocating for each other,” Bachelorette Season 14 star Becca Kufrin wrote. “You both know what’s best for one another, and you both got this.”
Deanna Pappas, who first appeared in season 11 of The Bachelor, added, “Wow. I’m so glad you shared your knowledge! we have to advocate for ourselves.”
The news of her mom’s diagnosis came nearly a year after Thurston revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer at age 34.
“I had a small lump in my breast around the 10’oclock [sic] spot,” she wrote via her Instagram Stories in February 2025. “I discovered it myself. Thought maybe it was my period [or] maybe it was muscle soreness from working out. But, eventually, this lump never went away.”
The following month, she gave fans an update on the disease and announced that the cancer had spread to her liver.
In August, Thurston revealed she was going to undergo a double mastectomy in a bid to help with her recovery.
