In our thoughts.

Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston was diagnosed with breast cancer early last year and has been keeping followers updated with her treatment journey online.

Katie later revealed the news that her breast cancer had spread to her liver and is now at stage 4.

Soon after, Katie started a new treatment plan that seems to be working — the tumors in her body have been shrinking.

Over the weekend, however, the Bachelor Nation star shared the heartbreaking news that her mom has also been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Instagram
In a new post on Instagram, Katie wrote, “Life update: my mom has #breastcancer. I flew to Seattle this weekend to be with her at her first appointment. 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.”

Katie then went on to share how she was the one who encouraged her mom to get a second opinion after a mammogram came back with “benign” results.

“She just had her mammogram in December where her results said, ‘negative’ and ‘probably benign.’ They also notated her dense breasts but didn’t recommend further imaging,” she revealed, “They told her to come back in a year for her annual mammogram. They never suggested a breast ultrasound. I told her to ask for a breast ultrasound. Ultrasounds can find cancer hidden within dense breasts.”

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Katie continued, “During her breast ultrasound, they found suspicious masses. They scheduled a breast MRI & performed biopsies. Within two weeks of her ‘normal’ mammogram and her advocating for herself, she was diagnosed with cancer.”

Katie revealed in her caption that they’re still waiting for further results but currently feel hopeful that they caught it early.

“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.”

We’re sending all of our love to Katie, her mom, and their family as they navigate this next chapter. We are so glad they advocated for more testing and we’re thinking of them during this time.