October 01, 2026 bachelor insider
Joe Amabile Inspired Katie Thurston to Get a Brain Scan Amid Cancer Diagnosis
Spreading awareness.
Bachelor Nation fans got to know Joe Amabile and Katie Thurston on various Bachelor Nation shows over the years.
Since their time on the shows, the two have been keeping followers updated with their lives on social media.
Last year, Katie shared that she had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer and underwent a double mastectomy earlier this year.
A few months ago, Joe shared that doctors discovered an “early stage brain tumor,” which turned out to be a very low-grade astrocytoma, and he received brain surgery a couple months ago.
Both Bachelor Nation stars have been providing updates on their health journeys online. And while chatting on a recent podcast together, Katie revealed that Joe was the one who inspired her to get a brain scan.
“My tumor was also cancerous,” Joe shared while chatting about their experiences. “My tumor was… grade 2 but low-grade. Within grade 2, it was very low. And they removed the whole thing and my neurosurgeon said, ‘We even got extra. So we went around the whole tumor.’ They got the whole thing, but the way brain tumors — cancerous brain tumors — work is they’ll never know what’s left over.”
Joe continued, “The way these things usually work is there’s always leftover cells. So I’m on a pill I take daily that, the way she described it was, it puts my cells to sleep. Puts them in a safe. Locks the key, and you’re good.”
Katie then shared that she’s getting a brain scan soon due to Joe’s experience.
She said, “You actually inspired me to get a brain MRI and so I’m getting my first one this Friday. Just because with stage 4, it can go anywhere. And we don’t even have a base scan of my brain, so we’re just doing that as a precaution. But also you never know until you do that.”
The former Bachelorette then explained that since her double mastectomy, she’s only able to get PET scans now. So she’s being cautious and “fingers crossed that there’s good news.”
We appreciate Joe and Katie sharing their journeys and being so open about their experiences. We know them sharing their stories will help so many others.
