Shannen Doherty shares update on her battle with stage 4 breast cancer
Shannen Doherty has shared an update on her battle with stage 4 breast cancer, telling Elle magazine that she's trying to "treasure all the small moments" in her life.
In 2020, the Beverly Hills 90210 star had publicly revealed that her breast cancer had returned and had spread. She is now sharing how she broke the news to her closest friends at a dinner at her home with her oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro.
Doherty said Piro explained that she would have to undergo "hormone therapy to block the oestrogen fuelling her cancer, plus a second targeted drug that is often effective at stabilising metastatic disease."
Shannen Doherty has shared an update on her battle with stage 4 breast cancer with Elle magazine Getty
Doherty expressed gratitude.
"I try to treasure all the small moments that most people don't really see or take for granted," she said.
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"The small things are magnified for me. We have this endless well within us, and it's just about continuing to dig in that well for the strength to face adversity — and so that we can also see all the beauty."
Doherty said she's been reflecting on her life, asking herself if she has good karma and wondering about the end.
Shannen Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Getty images
"I was like, 'OK, do I have good karma? Do I have bad karma? Why would I have bad karma?' I started taking stock of my life and the things I'd done, and the things I hadn't done. How I was with people," Doherty said.
She has plans to write letters and leave video messages for friends and family for after her death.
"There are things I need to say to my mum. I want my husband to know what he's meant to me," she said.
"But whenever it comes time for me to do it, it feels so final. It feels like you're signing off, and I'm not signing off."
"I feel like I'm a very, very healthy human being. It's hard to wrap up your affairs when you feel like you're going to live another 10 or 15 years," Doherty added.
In the meantime, Doherty is living her life and said she feels healthy.
"It's like anybody with Stage IV faces this sort of thing, where others want to put you out to pasture," Doherty said.
"I'm not ready for pasture. I've got a lot of life in me."
Shannen Doherty (pictured during the COVID-19 lockdowns) plans to write letters and leave video messages for friends and family for after her death Instagram
