Shannen's Fighting Spirit
- Actress Shannen Doherty’s Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Brian Austin Green has complimented her fighting spirit, positive outlook, and resilience as she battles stage four breast cancer.
- Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and again in 2020.
- Keeping a positive mindset through cancer can help make the journey easier.
Shannen’s Breast Cancer Battle
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump in her breast. She fought the cancer with hormone therapy, and then eventually got a single mastectomy. She also had chemotherapy and radiation. In 2020, Doherty shared that her cancer had returned and that it was advanced cancer. Doherty is now fighting metastatic breast cancer, which is an advanced type of breast cancer that has spread or metastasized to other parts of the body. Metastatic breast cancer is not yet curable. Related: Jason Priestly Supports TV Twin, Shannen Doherty, as She Battles Stage 4 Breast Cancer: 'She's Always Been a Fighter'Throughout Doherty’s cancer journey, she has had support from other former co-stars as well. 90210‘s Jason Priestly echoed Green’s sentiments, saying that Doherty has “always been a fighter.” And Jenni Garth spoke to Doherty’s strength as well, calling the actress “a really strong person.” It’s clear that she has a lot of people in her corner as she fights this battle.
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a Medical Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, spoke about treating advanced breast cancer. She said, “I treat women day in and day out who have metastatic breast cancer. And I see the fear in their eyes. And I also see the hope in their eyes. And I share in that hope.”
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Dr. Comen said that thanks to treatment advances and modern technology, women can live longer with advanced breast cancer. She told us, “Why do I share in that hope? Because I have so many patients who are living with their cancer. And they’re living with their cancer because they have, fortunately, in today’s medical technology, what’s available are so many different options, including standard therapies, whether it be chemotherapy or hormonal therapies, or a new targeted medicine based on genetic sequencing of your cancer that may have been performed– meaning, trying to understand the mutations that are found in your cancer and are there any specific drugs that could be targeted for that mutation.”
An Overview of Treatment Options for Advanced Breast Cancer
Staying Positive Through Cancer
In chatting about his friend and neighbor, Green praised Doherty’s spirit. He said, "Shannen's awesome. She's a fighter. She's doing what Shan does. She's staying as positive as possible and she's going full steam ahead with life until life decides, 'I can't do this anymore.' But that doesn't seem like anywhere in the near future."
Related: The Value of Using a Social Worker During Treatment
While the cancer treatment battle can be an uphill one, it’s important to surround yourself with support during this time, as Doherty continues to do, and also stay in a positive mindset. Dr. Zuri Murrell, a Colorectal Surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview how he often sees the effects of a positive mindset in his patients first-hand.
Related: A Major Step in the Cancer Journey: Learning to Deal With Vulnerability
Dr. Murrell said, “My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they’re diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK. Now doesn’t that mean I’m good at saying that the cancer won’t grow. But I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
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