At 52, Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Cancer Has Spread to Bones: ‘I’m Not Done’
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Shannen Doherty revealed her stage 4 breast cancer has spread to her bones.
This update comes almost six months after she told fans the cancer metastasized to her brain.
“I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving,” she said.
Nearly six months after Shannen Doherty shared with fans that her stage 4 breast cancer metastasized to her brain, the Beverly Hills: 90210 star revealed to People that the cancer is now in her bones. But she’s not letting the news discourage her from pressing on.
“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,” she told the outlet. “I’m just not—I’m not done.”
In fact, she is taking the opportunity to start something new—a podcast that details her now eight-year cancer journey, and more, called Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, which premieres December 6 on iHeartRadio.
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. In 2018, she announced that it had entered remission. Then, after almost three years, she broke the news that the cancer had returned, as stage 4.
The rollercoaster of experiences has certainly given the 52-year-old time to ponder the meaning of it all. “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,” she told People. With her new podcast, she hopes to spread awareness and raise funds for cancer research, while proving that she has a lot left to give.
“People just assume that [having cancer] means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age—‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,” Doherty said. “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
According to the Susan G. Komen Foundation, about one-third of women diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer in the U.S. live at least five years after diagnosis. Some may live 10 or more years beyond diagnosis. “It’s insane to me [that] we still don’t have a cure,” Doherty told People.
In her most recent Instagram health update, Doherty revealed doctors found “mets” (metastases), or cancerous tumors, in her brain and shared raw footage of her undergoing a CT scan. “My fear is obvious,” she wrote in the video’s caption. “I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life... The turmoil….. the timing of it all…. This is what cancer can look like.”
On the flip side, it also looks like Doherty greets every day with hope and gratitude. “My greatest memory is yet to come,” she told People. “I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.”
She’s optimistic about having a place in new clinical trials that could advance her treatment. Until then, she’s simply glad to be here. “I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you’re just more aware of everything, and you feel so blessed,” she explained. “We’re the people who want to work the most because we’re just so grateful for every second, every hour, every day we get to be here.”
Tune into Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty on December 6.
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