Shannen Doherty has had quite a career: she earned her first film part at the age of ten in the early 1980s, cemented her status as a Hollywood ‘bad girl’ in the 1990s, and endeared herself to the public in the 2010s by disclosing details of her breast cancer diagnosis.

Shannen battled breast cancer between March 2015 and April 2017. “When you hear the term remission, you get a rush of different feelings,” Shannen explained to Good Morning America in September 2018. “To me, remission is a weird word.”

Regrettably, Shannen’s cancer reappeared and spread to other parts of her body during a routine visit in 2019.

Shannen’s cancer is incurable yet treatable at stage IV.
Shannen’s breast cancer has progressed to stage IV, known as metastatic breast cancer. There is no cure for the disease, which has gone to her spine and is expected to spread to other organs such as the brain, lungs, and liver.

She can, however, control the disease thanks to medical advances that were not available when Shannen was first diagnosed. Shannen is undergoing hormone therapy to block the estrogen that feeds cancer and taking medications to control her symptoms.

Shannen described her metastatic breast cancer diagnosis as a “hard pill to chew” on Good Morning America in February 2020. The Beverly Hills, 90210 star opened all about her inner struggles: “There are days when I wonder, ‘Why me?'” ‘Well, why not me?’ I think. Who else earned it besides me?’ No one of us does.”

Shannen disclosed practically every detail of her treatment with followers during her initial cancer struggle. On the other hand, Shannen has kept her troubles to herself since her second diagnosis. She discusses living with the sickness but rarely understands the specifics of her cancer struggle.

Shannen has admitted that she will most likely die due to the sickness. She told Elle in September 2020 that she would write letters and make videos describing her feelings for her loved ones, but she still believes she has a long way to go before death strikes.

“Whenever I have to do it [write letters], it feels so definitive. It appears that you are signing off, but I am not. I believe I am a healthy human being. It’s difficult to close your affairs when you believe you’ll live another 10 or 15 years.”

Shannen said during a virtual panel for List of a Lifetime, a film about a woman who compiles a bucket list after receiving a cancer diagnosis in September 2021, that she has no such list. “I’m like, ‘There’s no bucket list because I’m going to be the longest-living cancer patient,'” she added.

Despite her terminal prognosis, Shannen is living her life to the fullest.
“My spouse believes you’d never know I have cancer,” Shannen remarked in September 2021, and we agree with Kurt Iswarienko, Shannen’s husband.

Shannen is so full of life and optimism that you’d never suspect she has advanced cancer. “I never really complain,” she went on to say. “I don’t talk about it often. At this point, it’s just a part of life.”

Shannen’s perseverance is a testament to her fortitude. She starred in Hot Seat in 2022 and will participate in future films How to Strike a Bargain with the Devil and Bukowski.

“There was never even a question that I wouldn’t work,” Shannen told Variety. Shannen believes she must continue striving to demonstrate that cancer sufferers are employable. She admitted that securing assignments as a stage IV cancer patient has been difficult – but she hasn’t given up.

Shannen recently told Variety that she’d discovered new excitement as a filmmaker. “I’m a huge nerd regarding cameras, lenses, and lighting — generating mood and tone,” she admitted. “I’m probably at my happiest when I’m directing.”

“It’s the small things that make me chuckle,” the Charmed actress told Health magazine—my dog’s facial expressions. As we stroll down the street, my spouse is playing air guitar. All the simple things make me smile and feel happy that I’m still here to enjoy them.”

Shannen’s goal is to promote cancer awareness and funding for cancer research.
Shannen thinks that her honesty will help global cancer fight. Shannen shared Instagram photographs of the traumatic moment she cut her hair in October 2021. She wrote in the caption:

“I ultimately decided to shave what remained of my hair. It was a battle in and of itself. My hair looked great on me. It had defined me to some level and served as a sort of security blanket for me. I will tell you about the day I decided to shave my head. #breastcancerawareness.”

Shannen spoke to Entertainment Tonight in December 2021 about her goals for the coming year. Shannen desired steady health, relationships, and satisfying employment prospects. Shannen went on to say that she planned to utilize her voice to raise cancer awareness and cash for cancer research:

“I keep thinking in the back of my mind, ‘OK, what can I do to help bring more awareness, what can I do to help raise money, what can I do to push research for not just myself, but for everyone else who is suffering from cancer?”

Shannen has said nothing about her Crohn’s disease battle.
Shannen has had Crohn’s disease since she was a toddler. Crohn’s disease causes digestive tract inflammation, resulting in stomach pain, severe diarrhea, and exhaustion.

Crohn’s disease has no treatment, however, steroids and immunosuppressants are used to decrease its progression. Shannen hasn’t spoken much about her lifelong fight with the condition.

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