Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston is reflecting on how her relationship with her body has evolved amid her cancer battle.
“There’s so many layers to that. I’ve gone through different moments. There’s a level of accepting my body and being like, ‘I’m alive. I’m here.’ But then there’s also a level of like, ‘OK, but what was I doing in the past before this?’ I wasn’t going to the gym, I wasn’t drinking water,” Thurston, 35, exclusively told Us on Wednesday, October 21, while promoting Breast Cancer Awareness Month. “There’s a reflection of like, ‘How can I be better for myself?’”
She continued, “And I hesitate to talk about that sometimes because I don’t want people to feel responsible for their cancer because that’s not what I’m saying. Everybody, regardless of a diagnosis, there’s a level of like, ‘Alright, I need to be drinking my water.’ Like, ‘Do I really need that fourth glass of wine? I don’t know.’”
Thurston went public with her breast cancer diagnosis in 2025 and tied the knot with her husband, comedian Jeff Arcuri, that same year. More than 600 days after her diagnosis, Thurston shared earlier this month that there was “no evidence of disease.”
While on her health journey, Thurston underwent her first cosmetic procedure and felt like she had “control” in her life. (The Breast Cancer Research Foundation spokesperson revealed to fans that she had chin liposuction done in September.)
“It was something I was thinking about doing,” she told Us. “I’ve had so many medical procedures — like biopsies, my breasts have been removed, like so much — I was like, ‘You know what? I’m gonna do this because I want to and just because I have a diagnosis doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to want to be pretty and feel good about myself.’”
She continued, “I got a lot of judgment from people that were like, ‘Well, you have stage IV cancer. You should be happy to be alive.’ Like, I’m also 35, a newlywed. I want to feel hot, OK? I want to feel good about myself and if that means I’m going to the gym … It’s my life, my body, and I think that’s a big thing I’ve also learned. It’s so easy to criticize somebody else but you never know what they’re going through or how they’re feeling. I’ve really learned, ‘Hey if it makes them happy, then I’m happy for them.’”
Despite receiving “judgment” from online users, Thurston shared that she still sees an importance in using her platform and being candid on social media.
“I do try to protect my peace, but I’m also just a very public person, and I’ve never really been shy about my thoughts and my feelings and my experiences,” she said. “I think I shared my diagnosis two days after getting the phone call. So I do recognize when there’s a time to like step away or to turn off the DMs or whatever it is, because I do think it’s so important to find balance and protect your peace. But overall, again, I think I’m just so exposed to it from reality TV life that this is nothing.”
And with her platform, Thurston is continuing to advocate for breast cancer research and early detection.
“The only way to catch that is [through] early detection, and so I’m really trying to educate women, especially those under 40, how to be an advocate for themselves, how to check their breasts,” she said. “Check for changes, not just lumps, but the appearance. Maybe it’s dimpling, maybe it’s inverted nipples or discharge, things that just aren’t normal. Really work with your medical team to figure out if this is something to explore further.”
