The passion of those who love what they do is often eye-opening. Film star Shannen Doherty, recognized for her portrayal of Brenda Walsh in the 1990 drama series, Beverly Hills, 90210, has been fighting cancer for almost a decade now. The actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Recent news on her remission stated that the disease had spread to her bones. Despite that, Doherty remains optimistic about her future, and acting.
Battling stage 4 cancer is no child’s play. While it is often regarded as the last stage of cancer, speaking scientifically, it does not have to be mandatorily terminal, per Medical News Today. Clearly, the American actress has chosen to focus on the greener side of things. Impressively, Doherty is not willing to compromise her profession even at this phase of her life.
Shannen Doherty marches on
After getting diagnosed in 2015, the 52-year-old actress announced that she was in remission 2 years later. She took to Instagram to share the update with an elaborate note. Sadly, the deadly disease took a toll once again in 2020 when Doherty finally revealed that she was fighting stage 4 cancer.
Recently, the Charmed actress appeared in a cover story with People to unravel her journey. Despite the alarming fact that the cancer has spread to her bones, Shannen Doherty is explicit about her life goals. She told People’s Magazine,
“I don’t want to die. 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.”
The actress expressed her frustration with being treated like a dying patient. She addressed the issue of people assuming that cancer patients must retire from life, letting go of everything they loved doing. She added,
“People just assume that it 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. 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.”
However, Doherty wanted to make it known to the world that she was not done at all. In fact, she claimed that her best days are yet to come.
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Shannen Doherty’s dog first diagnosed her cancer
The Tennessee-born actress has concrete faith in her life. Interestingly, Doherty appeared on Entertainment Tonight in 2016, a year after her breast cancer diagnosis, and revealed that it was her dog, Bowie who first detected the cancer. She said to ET,
“She would obsessively sniff right here on my right side for a long time before. So, it made sense when I got diagnosed.”
In 2016, Doherty underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy and radiation since the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. She also underwent a single mastectomy, per CBS News. Regardless, the actress intends to focus on her bigger purpose in life while also raising awareness on cancer research and continuing with her beloved profession.
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