Katie Thurston reveals medical update amid stage 4 breast cancer battle
Life update: I have breast cancer.
Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentine’s Day celebrations. I felt envious if I’m being honest. Jeff took me to Hawaii and after, we were going to travel the world before planting roots together in NYC finally. But instead, my Vday was spent coordinating a place to live as I have to go back to LA for more testing and treatment.
I used my morning to figure out insurance for NYC and laws on pre existing conditions. I scheduled appointments for another biopsy, fertility, mental health, surgery, as well as meeting with my team to discuss the overall treatment plan, which will include chemo.
I experienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks.
Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful.
Ready. I cried a lot. I tried to even make a video instead of this post and couldn’t.
But one thing I did early on was search other stories like mine. 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.
And I saved the best for last. To my extraordinary husband to be @jarcuri – I don’t know how I’d do this without you. The selfless love that you smother me in is beyond anything I imagined I’d be blessed with. I love you to the fullest in this lifetime and the next. 
The first 24 hours are a blur.
All I know is I wanted fries despite feeling like I would throw up at any minute. Currently I’m wrapped in bandages with drains. No idea what my body looks like. I had a nipple sparing DMX directly to implant with nerve preservation.
As a cancer survivor, my breast surgery is covered. However, nerve preservation isn’t. It’s not talked enough about how you lose your feeling/sensations. And I think this is a big piece for quality of life and feeling as most “me” that I can.
Thank you to @drannepeled@peledsurgery and all those involved in my care. But also the biggest shoutout to my amazing husband @jarcuri who continues to love me softly and gently and be by my side through this chapter. #dmx#mbc#breastcancersupport
A few months later, Thurston underwent a nipple-sparing double mastectomy with a direct-to-implant breast reconstruction as she wanted to “do everything I can to increase my chances” of survival. In May 2026, she posted an update on her Instagram, showing herself on the hospital bed after having undergone the surgery.
“The first 24 hours are a blur. All I know is I wanted fries despite feeling like I would throw up at any minute. Currently I’m wrapped in bandages with drains. No idea what my body looks like,” she wrote.
Latest updates on her cancer
In June 2026, Thurston shared an update on her metastatic liver cancer. Despite recent scans showing that her liver cancer is in remission, her doctors were concerned that her enzyme levels are still high.
“In short, we don’t know why. So they want to do a liver biopsy as well as incorporate steroids to help with whatever inflammation is going on,” she shared.
However, Thurston added that she will be delaying the treatment.
“For mental health reasons, I really need to take a break from all the pokes and surgeries and just try to enjoy a somewhat normal summer,” she shared.
Cancer advocacy
By sharing her cancer journey with the public, Thurston hopes to raise awareness on breast cancer and to encourage people to get screened.
“One thing I did early on was search [for] other stories like mine. 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,” she wrote.
Thurston has also been using her platform to advocate for breast cancer screening. “As a social media person, I always think of these little phrases. I’m like, ‘You guys are in BRAT training’ — Be Ready to Advocate for Those Titties.’ Bring things up — with your doctor, not just with Google,” she shared.
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