On How Katie Thurston Learned of Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis

First, Katie’s doctor referred her to a specialist to get a breast ultrasound. Then, she had a mammogram.

“After then getting the mammogram, they wanted me to do a biopsy,” Katie explained in a March 18, 2025 Instagram video. “Only then can they confirm if it’s breast cancer. I think my appointment was February 5. And then by February 13th, I got the official call that it was indeed breast cancer.” 

And she’ll never forget the moment she first got the news.

It was “the worst feeling I’ve ever felt,” the reality star, who noted her family doesn’t have a history of breast cancer, shared on Good Morning America March 19, 2025. “You’re just devastated. You’re so devastated. It’s so shocking. As a 34-year-old woman, you’re not prepared.”

Katie informed her fans of her stage 3 diagnosis on February 15, 2025.

“I experienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks,” she wrote on Instagram. “Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful. Ready. I cried a lot.”

And she expressed her intent to document her journey in the hope of helping others.

“One thing I did early on was search other stories like mine,” she continued. “Other young women with breast cancer. Invasive ductal carcinoma. Mastectomy. Pregnancy after breast cancer. All of their stories helped. So I intend to be the same for others. This is day one of sharing and is going to be a long one. This first step of acceptance of my reality was the hardest. But I am ready to fight this.”