Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Health, Shannen Doherty
Shannen Doherty says she 'doesn't want to die' after revealing that her cancer has devastatingly spread to her bones.
Back in June, Doherty shared a heart-wrenching Instagram post on the treatment she was receiving for her returning cancer, after previously being in remission.
The actor's heartbreaking cancer story began in 2015 as she was diagnosed with breast cancer, but after treatment, two years later, she revealed she had gone into remission.
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Doherty has been candid about her ongoing battle with cancer and in 2020 announced that she had been diagnosed with stage four cancer. She also explained that the cancer had metastasized to her brain.
Since then, Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Sarah Michelle Gellar provided an update to fans surrounding the health of her longtime friend.
Last month, Gellar said Doherty is ‘fighting’ and that she is a ‘warrior’ in the face of the disease.
“There are ups and downs and there are days that are harder than others and there are some days that are easy, but she’s doing great," Gellar told Access Hollywood.
Now, Doherty has provided her own health update in a new interview.
Speaking to PEOPLE, the actor said: "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."
2020 saw a devastating prognosis for Doherty as she was told she has stage four cancer.
Speaking of that, Doherty said: "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."
As we head towards the end of 2023, Doherty is hoping to get into clinical trials as new treatments are being developed.
But she is currently most driven by her ability to continue working despite her cancer diagnosis.
"People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work," she told PEOPLE.
"They put you out to pasture at a very early age —‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,” she says. “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."
Doherty continued: "My greatest memory is yet to come. 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."
