"Worst feeling I've ever felt" - Bachelorette alum Katie Thurston gets candid about breast cancer battle

Katie Thurston is now speaking out following her breast cancer diagnosis last month. The Bachelorette alum sat down for an interview on Good Morning America, where she opened up about the challenges she has faced over the past month after being diagnosed with stage three triple-positive ductal carcinoma.

Thurston says:

"[This was the] worst feeling I've ever felt"

Last month, on February 15, Katie first shared the news of her diagnosis. In a lengthy Instagram post, she wrote:

"Life update: I have breast cancer,"

Before continuing:

"Yesterday I saw all the couples post their Valentines 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 NUC 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."

She also added:

"I expirienced a range of emotions over the past two weeks. Despair. Anger. Sadness. Denial. And then strength. Purposeful. Ready."

The Bachelorette star added that during the difficult moment of her diagnosis reveal, she listened to the stories of countless other brave women going through the same experience, which gave her the strength she needed.

"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."

Katie Thurston opens up about her diagnosis in a new emotional interview

In her latest interview, Katie Thurston, who was on season 14 of the reality show revealed in detail how her diagnosis came about.

"When I felt my lump, it was sore. As women we are used to being told 'oh it's you time of the month, or 'oh it's from working out' and I brushed it off for a while, and then finally I decided to go to the doctor."

The TV personality also shared that her life plans have suddenly changed, and she is now in what she calls "survival mode."

"You're on, like, survival mode. Like, you don't have a choice -- you show up, or you die. And I hate to say it that way, but, like every day you have an appointment, every day you have to show up. You don't have a choice."

Katie also adds:

"I think that's the biggest takeaway, is telling people like, 'Don't wait,' you know, 'Be proactive, get checked out. You could be doing yourself a favor in the future.'"

Thurston also shared what the next course of action would be.

"Because of the size of the tumor, I have to do chemo first, to shrink it down, and the I can have it removed. Either one side, or both sides. That's a conversation I don't even know yet."

During the interview, Katie was supported by her fiancé, comedian Jeff Arcuri, who paused his world tour to be by her side during the difficult time. Thurston also mentioned how the sudden diagnosis has left the couple in shock and impacted the plans they originally had for the coming year.

"We thought we'd be planning a wedding. We thought we'd be trying for a baby. And instead, we know that this year is really dedicated to just treatment and getting better."

She further added:

"We've done everything we can to be, you know, proactive for our future and our family plans. But in the event that IVF didn't work out, in the event that chemo did impact me in a negative way when it comes to my reproductive health, we're also ok being a childless couple."

According to Eva Pilgrim, who interviewed Katie Thurston, Katie now looks forward to planning a beautiful wedding where she hopes to one day walk down the aisle.