Shannen Doherty Shares an Update on Her Cancer Battle: ‘I’m Not Ready to Die’

On November 29, Shannen Doherty has opened up about her current battle with cancer while talking with People Magazine.

Doherty, who is People’s cover star this month, is still battling stage IV cancer. As Mamas Uncut previously reported, Doherty has been battling cancer for years. Earlier this year, she announced to her followers on Instagram that the cancer has since spread to her brain.

Doherty was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. Now, 8 years later, Doherty has shared several videos of her recent battle.

She revealed that she was told the cancer had spread to her brain on January 5th. “My CT scan showed Mets in my brain,” Doherty wrote. “…January 12 the first round of radiation took place. My fear is obvious.” 

Doherty continued, writing, “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.”

The emotional video showed tears streaming down her face as she received her first round of radiation. However in order to add some levity to the situation, she named her tumor Bob.

“He had to get removed and dissected to see his pathology,” she told People. “It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”

Now, Doherty has chosen to have an uplifting look at her ongoing journey. While speaking with People, Doherty admitted, “I don’t want to die” because she’s 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.”

And it was the question of why this was happening to her that has encouraged her to find her bigger purpose. “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,” Doherty explained to People.

In fact, Doherty believes now more than ever that her best days are ahead of her. And as a result, she’s ready to share more about her journey through her new podcast Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty which is set to premiere on December 6.

Doherty explained that she hopes her podcast and her willingness to be transparent will help raise awareness and funds for cancer research. “It’s insane to me [that] we still don’t have a cure.”

She also wants to prove that even people with a terminal illness can still be productive members of society.

“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age —‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not. 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.”

On top of her health battle, Doherty also endured a divorce this year. As Mamas Uncut reported, the actress confirmed in April that she had filed for divorce from her husband of 11 years, Kurt Iswarienko. “Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted,” Doherty’s rep, Leslie Sloane, told People in an exclusive statement.

“Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option.” Sloane went on to allege that Iswarienko’s agent “was intimately involved” with the divorce. 

TMZ reports that Doherty and Iswarienko have been separated since January, around the same time Doherty would have learned about her diagnosis.

But despite all that, Doherty tells People that she knows “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.”