Shannen Doherty Is Determined To Fight Even as Cancer Spreads to Her Bones
That actress Shannen Doherty has been battling cancer is a well-known fact. After all, the 90210 actress has shared her journey, vulnerability, and fears through her social media account. Lately, the Charmed alum revealed that her stage 4 breast cancer has spread to her bones.
Despite the sad news, Shannen is trying to maintain an optimistic outlook in the face of adversity. The 52-year-old actress shared the heartbreaking update in the new feature story of People magazine. Keeping positive amid the massive setback, Shannen bravely shared, “I don’t want to die.”
She continued, “I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I’m just not done.”
Until now, Shannen is still looking for treatment and hopes that her journey can inspire others who are going through the same experience. She explained, “When you ask yourself, ‘Why me? Why did I get cancer?’ and then, ‘Why did my cancer come back? Why am I stage 4?’ that leads you to look for the bigger purpose in life.”
With the SAG-AFTRA strike finally ending, Shannen is determined to return to work and prove that she can continue her career as an actress despite her ongoing health battle.
The actress who played Prue Halliwell shared, “People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture very early —‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not.”
She further explained, “We’re vibrant and have a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
Last June, the Heathers actress revealed that her breast cancer had already spread to her brain. Shortly after, she underwent surgery to have the tumor in her brain removed. Taking it all in stride, she comically named the tumor “Bob.”
She said to People, “He [Bob] had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology. It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
During her brain CT earlier this year, they discovered that the cancer cells had spread to her brain, a medical event called brain metastases.
According to the Mayo Clinic, breast cancer, Shannen’s original diagnosis, is one of the cancers that is known to lead to brain metastases. As a proactive approach, Shannen was advised by her medical team to have her first round of radiation therapy after the new diagnosis.
Recall that the actress was first diagnosed in March 2015 when it was discovered that her breast cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. Since then, she has undergone a unilateral mastectomy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. In April 2017, Shannen shared the news that her cancer was in remission. At the time, she wrote on Instagram, “Reoccurrences happen all the time. Many of you have shared that very story with me. So with a heart that is certainly lighter, I wait. I’m going to just breathe.”
In 2020, she was told that her illness had come back with a vengeance. Her breast cancer had progressed to stage four.
