Shannen Doherty Reveals Secret Weapon in Cancer Battle: Chelsea Handler

Shannen Doherty has found a great new friend as she battles cancer: Chelsea Handler. (Photo: Getty Images)
Shannen Doherty has found a great new friend as she battles cancer: Chelsea Handler. (Photo: Getty Images)

Shannen Doherty is fighting her heart out against breast cancer. While she recently admitted there are times she worries she isn’t “going to make it,” she’s not giving up. Luckily, she has many people in her corner rooting her on, including Chelsea Handler.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum shared on Instagram that the comedian, whom she knew in passing, has been an amazing supporter while she fights the disease. Doherty said Handler has “made a point to have date nights with me on a weekly basis.” And while Handler is known for her brash and sarcastic humor, the blonde has a “huge heart” and “just wants to make a difference.”

Doherty noted, “Sometimes the right people come into your life at the right time.”

Handler has gotten a little more serious on her Netflix talk show Chelsea, but back when she was the Chelsea Lately host, she’d mostly talk about vodka and mouth off about celebrities who annoyed her, with Angelina Jolie at the top of her list. Making a difference, which Doherty says is Handler’s goal now, didn’t seem to be at the top of her list. But while Handler came off as rough around the edges, she is known for being a loyal friend. Her famous inner circle includes Jennifer Aniston, Charlize Theron, Reese Witherspoon, Sandra Bullock, and Gwyneth Paltrow.

And now Shannen Doherty. The brunette certainly needs all the support she can get. In August, she went public with the news that her breast cancer, which was diagnosed in February 2015, had spread to her lymph nodes.

On Friday, Doherty, who has also leaned on her pal Sarah Michelle Gellar, shared a powerful Instagram photo taken after one of her chemotherapy treatments. In it, she is on her side in a hospital bed while still hooked up to machines.

“Day after #chemoday isn’t always so great,” she wrote. “Sometimes one isn’t able to dance, or eat or even to think about the next day. Sometimes it just feels like you aren’t going to make it. That passes. Sometimes the next day or 2 days later or 6 but it passes and movement is possible. Hope is possible. Possibility is possible. To my cancer family and everyone suffering…. stay courageous. Stay strong. Stay positive.”

We hope Doherty is able to stay courageous, strong, and positive. If not, she has good friends, like Handler, who can remind her to.