Katie Thurston is adjusting to her changing appearance amid her ongoing cancer battle.
In a Sunday, June 15, Instagram Story, the Bachelor Nation star, 34, detailed her “thinning hair” management, including a new look.
Thurston, who revealed in February that she had been diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, mentioned in the video that she had intended to style her hair but never got around to it. She shared with her fans, “I blow dried it … but, honestly, I think I’m just going to, like, rock this Tinker Bell look for a while, you know?”
In the clip, she was seen on a sofa playing with her freshly styled ‘do, and a caption explained the inspiration behind the new look. She confessed, “I’ve been struggling to style my hair since the thinning has started. I ordered some clip in extensions to test out. In the meantime, this messy Tinker Bell bun look ain’t so bad.”
Additionally, in a second Instagram Story post, Thurston showcased a box of Kisqail, a hormone therapy medication used in breast cancer treatment, described on its website as a medication “to stop your cancer from growing and spreading.” The photo was captioned by Thurston as “Pack 8.”
The reality TV star’s candid posts arrived two weeks after she told fans she wants to share her cancer journey with them. “I wanted to do weekly check-ins that are just like uncut, raw emotions of whatever comes to my mind. I just finished my second month of treatment and if you’re asking how long treatment is, technically forever,” she said in a video shared via Instagram on June 1. “I am optimistic about medical advancements in the future. Fingers crossed as a stage 4 girly.”
Her post then revealed the reality of her treatment, including the subsequent loss of memory and other symptoms. “Right now, after finishing two months of my medication, my hair is coming out in an unnatural amount of clumps,” she said in the clip. “Working on that. I’m losing my memory. That’s great. Going through customs and them being like, ‘Where are you coming from?’ And I looked at him and I was like, ‘I don’t remember. I don’t remember.’”
One month after sharing her breast cancer diagnosis with fans, Thurston revealed that the cancer had spread to her liver, making it stage four. The heartbreaking news was shared via an Instagram video posted one week after her wedding to comedian Jeff Arcuri. (Us Weekly broke the news of their wedding in March.)
“After days of waiting, unfortunately, I did find out today that my breast cancer has spread to the liver,” the former Bachelorette said in a March 28 Instagram video. “It is fairly small, however it does put me at stage four.”
Maintaining a positive mindset, Thurston continued, “I know stage four can sound very scary, and it can be. However, 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.”
