Former The Bachelorette star Katie Thurston has hit back at false reports that stated she had passed away following her cancer diagnosis.
Thurston, who is married to US comedian Jeff Arcuri, responded to hurtful speculation that she had died in an emotional Instagram Story.
The reality TV star, who rose to fame in 2021 when appearing on season 17 of The Bachelorette, shared her video on Friday, 26 September, where she revealed she was notified about reports of her death when people began to reach out.
"I literally wanted to take time away from social media, but then I was getting, like, texts from people I don’t normally hear from," the 34-year-old said. "Then, I got DMs from people, and everyone’s like, 'Are you OK?'"
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She revealed she knew about the article before that moment, but this time was 'triggering'.
She was sadly diagnosed with breast cancer earlier this year, just one month before getting married, with it now being stage four.
Thurston continued: "I’ve seen this article go around before, but something about tonight really f**king pisses me off. It’s, like, triggering, and I try to report it."
She went to say there is 'just nothing I can do' about the article being live, and now she feels 'helpless'.
"I’m just so mad right now. Like, if anyone works at Facebook [or] has any suggestion on what I can do, please tell me."
There have been a few social media accounts sharing a fake obituary for Thurston, which states she died due to her cancer.
In another Instagram Story, she confirmed: "[I’m] still here. FB is just constant clickbait... Please report these people. They suck!! This is so triggering."
"I know stage four can sound very scary and it can be," she said in an Instagram video in March. "But given that I am triple-positive and the spots on my liver are fairly small and detected early, I feel very optimistic on my outcome."
In April, she was due to start chemotherapy, but something happened which means it’s 'off the table' right now.
"Today I was supposed to start chemo," she wrote on Instagram. "I had my cold cap, my cold socks, snacks, blankets, medications, entertainment ready. My aunt Lindsey flew in to be with me this weekend for recovery.
"However, yesterday I got the call that my pathology results on my liver, breast, and lymph nodes all came back as HER2 Negative even though my original samples as Kaiser were HER2+. I was minutes away from taking my steroid for chemo prep.
"Instead I am headed to my doctor to discuss how this happened, what testing is needed, and what this means for my new treatment plan."
"I should be excited about that," she added. "But in two months, I’ve continued to get an updated diagnosis three times. I think thoroughness and getting a second medical opinion has been instrumental in my early cancer stage journey."
Then, in September, she updated her fans on the reality of her life.
“I wanted to give an update on my latest chapter as someone experiencing [and] navigating stage IV breast cancer,” she said. “The thing that people don’t realize with stage IV is I will be on medication for the rest of life. It’s kind of like a maintenance plan, which is great but also can be scary.”
Thankfully, she is waiting to see if her next scans come back without issue, and is set to undergo a double mastectomy to remove her breast tissue.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact Macmillan’s Cancer Support Line on 0808 808 00 00, 8am–8pm seven days a week.
Britt Jones