Shannen Doherty opens up on struggles after brain surgery to remove tumor
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Health, Shannen Doherty
Emily Brown
Featured Image Credit: People/YouTube/Instagram/@theshando
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Health, Shannen Doherty
Charmed and Beverly Hills, 90210 actor Shannen Doherty has opened up about how she struggled after undergoing brain surgery amid her years-long battle with cancer.
Doherty, 52, announced her Stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis in February 2020, before revealing more recently that it has since spread to her bones.
Earlier this year, Doherty had to undergo radiation as well as surgery to remove a tumor in her brain.
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In June, she shared footage of herself taken when she was in hospital in January, telling People: “He (the tumor) had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology.
"It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
In a new interview ahead of the release of her upcoming memoir-style podcast, Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty, the actor recalled the struggles she had after her surgery, including movements as simple as holding a glass or a fork.
“They put you on so many steroids. It’s to take down any brain swelling," she said.
"I have a horrible reaction with steroids, so I tried to cut it down, and then the brain would swell a little bit more, and the hand would stop working completely. We persevere through all sorts of crazy stuff, right?"
"The first time a glass slipped right through my hand, I was like, 'No, no, no, no, no. This is not happening. I am going to work on this.' And so, I did," she said.
Doherty struggled to hold items for about four months, but she worked hard to regain her motor skills.
She continued: “You think, ‘Could they have gotten more of that particular tumor?’ But it takes perseverance, a lot of dedication and faith to get through certain things. I’m not a quitter.”
Looking ahead, Doherty is now hopeful about her treatment going forward.
"The thing that I like to tell anybody — including myself — is that it's about pushing through the next two, three, four and five years, because in that period of time, there's going to be another new protocol, a new clinical trial," she said. "There's always something. So it's just trying to get to that point."
Doherty made clear she knows 'where [she's] going' in terms of the end of her life, but said she does not 'want to die'.
"I think I would be afraid of death if I wasn't a good person, but I am," she said. "I don't want to die. That's the difference. I'm not afraid of dying. I just don't want to die, like ever."