Shannen Doherty Is Focused on How Her Cancer Treatments Can Help Her 'Squeeze Out Another 3 to 5 Years' of Life

"Eventually there's going to be a cure," Doherty said with her oncologist on the latest episode of her 'Let's Be Clear' podcast

Shannen Doherty is looking to the future as she focuses on her cancer journey.

On the latest episode of her Let's Be Clear podcast, the 52-year-old and her guest, oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro, discussed how cancer treatments have evolved in recent years, as well as Doherty's hopes that future advancements will allow her to continue living a full life for years to come.

"I always talk about the fact that we just need to squeeze out another three to five years, and then there's going to be T-cell therapy or there's going to be this," the Beverly Hills 90210 alum said of the ever-evolving field of cancer research.

She continued, "There's going to be a lot more options that will give another five years. Then in those five years, there's a whole other group of options, and eventually there's going to be a cure."

Related: Shannen Doherty Is ‘Thankful to Be Here’ on Christmas After Tough Year: ‘Next Year’s Going to Be Beautiful’

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Since then, she's been open about her journey. In a November PEOPLE cover story, she revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones.

During the podcast, the actress and her doctor emphasized the importance of finding the right protocol for each cancer patient. Dr. Piro noted that while there was once a focus on either curing a patient or helping them as they limped "along with it," things have changed and "there are many different chapters" to living with cancer now.

The doctor compared the journey to a horse race as patients wait for new treatments to emerge.

"I always say that it's important to think of each therapy as a horse, and in a horse race, you want to ride every horse as long as it rides, and then you ride the next horse as much as possible... you hope you make it a few laps then there's altogether another new set of horses to ride, to make the race that much longer," Piro said.

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Doherty concurred, adding, "The horse analogy is a really good one. I'm riding those horses so I get to the fresh set of horses, and I'm trying to get the one I'm on right now to last for as long as humanly possible."

Related: Shannen Doherty Shares the 'Bucket List' Trip Her Oncologist Made Happen as He Calls Her 'Fearless'

In November, the Charmed actress shared with PEOPLE that she hopes to be accepted into trials for metastatic breast cancer patients.

"I don’t want to die,” she said at the time. “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 — I’m not done.”

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