Former Bachelorette Katie Thurston and her husband, Jeff Arcuri, know that surrogacy “will likely” be the best choice to expand their family following her breast cancer battle.
During an Instagram Story Q&A session on Friday, March 28, Thurston, 34, was asked if she would “have” to use a gestational carrier to welcome a baby down the line.
“I never like the word ‘have to’ with anything medical-related, kind of like ‘never say never,’” Thurston replied. “However, yes, Jeff and I discussed the importance of my health and that, when the time comes, surrogacy will likely be the best option for us.”
Thurston further shut down any criticism or judgment about her potential use of a surrogate.
“[This is] a friendly reminder to stop judging celebrities who pursue surrogacy,” Thurston stated. “You don’t know what they have going on in their personal lives.”
Thurston was diagnosed with breast cancer in February, which was elevated to stage 4 on Friday after doctors discovered a malignant spot on her liver. Before Thurston begins treatment, she opted to freeze embryos with Arcuri, 36.
“I’m basically putting my ovaries into a temporary menopausal state (I like to say hibernation) to protect them from chemo,” the Bachelor Nation alum explained in a follow-up Q&A post on Friday, noting she also took Zoladex injections. “It will also reduce estrogen production, which is particularly important in hormonereceptor-ER+/PR+ breast cancer as estrogen can fuel cancer growth.”
According to Thurston, her pre-treatment IVF cycle was “supported and approved” by her oncologist.
Us Weekly exclusively confirmed earlier in March that Thurston wed Arcuri before starting her cancer treatment.
Related: Katie Thurston Reveals How She Discovered Breast Cancer ‘Myself’
Paul Archuleta/Getty Images Katie Thurston was initially in disbelief when she realized that she had breast cancer. “I had a small lump in my breast around the 10’oclock [sic] spot,” Thurston, 34, wrote via her Instagram Stories on Saturday, February 15. “I discovered it myself. Thought maybe it was my period [or] maybe it was […]
“It was so sweet. Obviously, we were wanting to plan a wedding and there’s a lot of emotions that come in with chemo and the impact and the health and we don’t know what the next year looks like,” Thurston told Us. “And one night he said, ‘I want to show you that I still love you and that I’m here to stay. I’ll get married to you tomorrow.’ We flew our parents in from Michigan and Washington State. We got our marriage license and a friend is just gonna marry us.”
She added, “It was this kind gesture of him saying, truly, in sickness and in health. He is proving that he’s here to stay. He shows up every day and he does it in ways that just continue to surprise.”
Arcuri, a comedian who postponed his international tour amid Thurston’s treatment schedule, also spoke to Us about why he wanted to move up their wedding.
“I want to be able to be in the hospital with her and just be like, ‘My wife’s in there.’ There’s more power to that,” Arcuri said. “I don’t want to be not with you for any of this.”
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