'I Don't Want to Die': Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Cancer Has Spread to Her Bones
Nov. 29 2023, Published 9:53 a.m. ET
Shannen Doherty is trying to stay positive about her Stage 4 b------ cancer battle.
The actress recently revealed the disease has spread to her bones, however, she is trying to move forward amid her devastating health battle.
“I don’t want to die,” the 52-year-old said in a new interview with People. “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 was first diagnosed with b------ cancer in 2015 and underwent a mastectomy and chemotherapy after radiation at the time. Two years later, she went into remission, but in 2019, the cancer returned again.
“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 said, adding that she hopes to raise awareness about cancer research and help others along the way.
“It’s insane to me [that] we still don’t have a cure,” she declared.
In June, Doherty revealed via social media that the cancer had spread to her brain and she had gotten surgery five months prior to remove the tumor, which she named Bob.
“He had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology,” she explained. “It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star hopes to get into clinical trials in the future, but whether or not she makes it in, she is not slowing down anytime soon.
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“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,” she 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.”
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For now, Doherty is cherishing moments with her family and friends, including her dog Bowie.
"My greatest memory is yet to come," she noted. "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."
“I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you’re just more aware of everything, and you feel so blessed. 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," she concluded.