Shannen Doherty at The Farrah Fawcett Foundation's Tex-Mex Fiesta at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on Sept 06, 2019, in Beverly Hills.Getty
Shannen Doherty shared an emotional Instagram video of herself during radiation treatment for terminal cancer that has spread to her brain. She wrote, "This is what cancer can look like."
The "90210" and "Charmed" actress, Shannen Doherty (52), has revealed that her cancer has spread to her brain. Having initially been diagnosed with cancer in 2015, Doherty received treatment and went into remission in 2017. In 2020, the star announced that her breast cancer was terminal. This January a scan showed “mets”, or metastasis, in her brain.
On Instagram, on June 7, she wrote about her previous video saying it "was showing the process of getting fitted for the mask which you wear during radiation to your brain.
"January 12, the first round of radiation took place. My fear is obvious. I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life. I am fortunate as I have great doctors like Dr. Amin Mirahdi and the amazing techs at cedar sinai. But that fear…. The turmoil….. the timing of it all…. This is what cancer can look like."
In 2015, Doherty underwent a mastectomy and received chemotherapy and radiation treatment. In 2017 she announced she was in remission. Then three years later, in 2020 she revealed that she had been diagnosed with terminal breast cancer.
Speaking to Good Morning America at the time she said "It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."
She added “I definitely have days where I say, ‘Why me?’ And then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do.’”
Doherty continued to work during her second diagnosis in 2020 while filming the "90210" tv series reboot. She said "People with stage four can work too. Like, you know, our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do.”
The actress has however continuously documented her cancer journey, from various diagnoses to treatments, with the aim of raising awareness.