Shannen Doherty is staying hopeful despite her Stage 4 breast cancer being incurable.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star said on her podcast “Let’s Be Clear” that her positive outlook comes from the fact that the molecular makeup of her cancer cells has changed and given her new options.
“I got to say that there is some positivity there, and the positivity is that because my molecular structure of my cancer cells changed recently, it means that there’s a lot more protocols for me to try,” Doherty explained on Sunday. “So, you know, for the first time in a couple of months, probably, I feel hopeful because there are so many more protocols now, whereas before I was hopeful, but I was still getting prepared. Now I’m like, oh, I don’t need to be prepared. I need to go on a vacation. I need to go on a boat again and explore places.”
She continued, “So there is hope mixed with my own bit of sadness because, again, I just don’t know what all these chemos — and it’s more than one chemo that I’m going on. We’re kind of throwing the kitchen sink at it.”
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer back in 2015, but went into remission after a mastectomy, chemo and radiation therapy. The cancer came back in 2019 and was revealed to be Stage 4 in 2020.
In June 2023, the actress revealed that the cancer had spread to her brain and she underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor. In November 2023, she said the cancer was in her bones.
Doherty launched her podcast last December with hopes to raise awareness and funds for cancer research while also chronicling what it’s like living and working with the illness.
