Shannen Doherty says her cancer has spread

ShannenDoherty

90210 and Charmed alum Shannen Doherty revealed that her breast cancer has spread.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight posted just today, the 45-year-old actress discussed the moving photographs she shared on Instagram of her removing her hair due to the effects of chemotherapy:

After my second treatment, my hair was really matted, like in dreadlocks. And I went to try and brush it out, and it just fell out. I just remember holding onto huge clumps of my hair in my hands, and just running to my mom crying, like, ‘My hair, my hair, my hair, my hair.’ It was just shedding and it was driving me crazy. It was just clumps, and I was like, ‘Just grab the kitchen scissors.’ And my mom’s like, ‘Wait, wait, wait.’ I’m just, like, ‘Grab it.’ She went and grabbed the kitchen scissors, and put it in a ponytail and she just chopped it off. And it was this cute little bob, but it wasn’t enough, you know, it was falling out.

On her cancer spreading:

I had breast cancer that spread to the lymph nodes, and from one of my surgeries we discovered that some of the cancer cells might have actually gone out of the lymph nodes. So for that reason, we are doing chemo, and then after chemo, I’ll do radiation.

On the unknown being the most difficult part of her cancer diagnosis:

The unknown is always the scariest part. Is the chemo going to work? Is the radiation going to work? You know, am I going to have to go through this again, or am I going to get secondary cancer? Everything else is manageable. Pain is manageable, you know living without a breast is manageable, it’s the worry of your future and how your future is going to affect the people that you love.

On having a single mastectomy:

[The doctor] didn’t want me to wake up with absolutely nothing. It was very important to him that I didn’t have that experience, and so, he put an expander in, so I have a tiny something there. It’s cute and sometimes we fill it up and make it bigger, and sometimes we reduce it. I’m being so personal right now… But I think a lot of women can probably go, ‘Yeah, I’ve been through that.’ It’s great though, you get to pick out what size you want.

On her hopes of inspiring others who are battling cancer:

People don’t realize that cancer — yes, it ages you — but also, you can balloon up from the various meds. There are so many different reactions you have and so I just — I didn’t want someone to take a picture of me coming out of the grocery store and be like, ‘Oh God, look at her.’ I wanted to put it out there the way it felt the best for me to put it out there,. And also, if I could help one person then it makes me go, ‘Oh OK.’ It’s easier to live with having cancer if I know I’m helping at least one person.

Shannen’s 90210 co-star, Jason Priestly, extended his well-wishes during a charity event in California. “What she did the other day, shaving her head and posting the pictures and everything, that was incredibly brave,” he said. “Shannen’s a strong kid and a tough fighter and I know that she’s gonna come through this fight and she’s gonna be OK.”

Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in February 2015 and has undergone 3 out of 8 rounds of chemotherapy.



shopify
stats