Staying Positive Through Cancer
- Shannen Doherty appears to be enjoying life just two weeks after revealing she had surgery to remove a tumor in her brain. She was spotted in photographs smiling as she made her way to a restaurant in Malibu, California, this week.
- Doherty has been battling stage 4 (metastatic) breast cancer since 2019. When the disease is metastatic, that means it has spread to distant areas of the body. Doherty had what’s known as a craniotomy.
- The actress’ willingness to talk about the fear she felt in these recent months shows just how intense and overwhelming a cancer journey can be for survivors and the incredible emotions that can be felt.
- Licensed clinical social worker Sarah Stapleton previously told SurvivorNet that you should be "patient with your emotions" and communicate what you need from those around you as you process the news.
New photos, obtained by the Mirror, show Doherty smiling as she made her way to a restaurant in Malibu, California, on Thursday.
Read MoreCharmed star Shannen Doherty seen for the first time since announcing her cancer has spreadhttps://t.co/ZahCw47tL2 pic.twitter.com/7CIJbz76AA
— Mirror Celeb (@MirrorCeleb) June 23, 2023
Doherty has been battling stage 4 (metastatic) breast cancer since 2019. When the disease is metastatic, that means it has spread to distant areas of the body. Earlier this month, Doherty shared two brave social media posts informing her fans that the cancer has sadly spread to her brain.
When Doherty shared that her cancer had spread to her brain, she explained that she needed further treatments as a result.
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Doherty underwent her first round of radiation to her head on Jan. 12, 2023. Then, on Jan. 16, 2023, she underwent brain surgery to remove and biopsy a tumor.
An emotional video, shared on Instagram, showed Doherty receiving radiation to her head. She can be seen wearing a special mask that holds her head in the right place. Tears were seen falling from her eyes as she received the radiation.
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“My fear is obvious,” she wrote on her post. “I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life. … But that fear…. The turmoil….. the timing of it all…. This is what cancer can look like.”
Shannen Doherty's Cancer Battle
Shannen Doherty first received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2015 after she found a lump in her breast. For treatments the first time around, she underwent hormone therapy, a single mastectomy (the removal of all breast tissue from one breast), chemotherapy and radiation.
She was deemed to be in remission in 2017, but the cancer returned just two years later in 2019. This time, her diagnosis was metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer.
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There is technically no cure for metastatic breast cancer, but that doesn't mean people can't live good, long lives with this stage of disease, thanks to hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted drugs and immunotherapy, as well as a combination of treatments.
“With advanced disease, the goal of treatment is to keep you as stable as possible, slow the tumor growth and improve your quality of life,” SurvivorNet advisor Dr. Elizabeth Comen, an oncologist with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, said about metastatic breast cancer management.
“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. Why do I share in that hope? Because I have so many patients who are living with their cancer… It isn't just about living, but living well.”
As stated above, Doherty's cancer has since spread to her brain, otherwise known as brain metastasis. She's since undergone both radiation and surgery to improve her prognosis. The surgery she underwent is called a craniotomy.
"It's a procedure to cut out a tumor and it can be metastasized or a tumor that started someplace else like the breasts and went to the brain especially if the tumor is causing symptoms or if it's large," Dr. Kimberly Hoang, board-certified neurosurgeon at Emory University School of Medicine, explained.
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Several neurosurgeons tell SurvivorNet that the procedure can allow patients with cancer in their brain to live longer, more vibrant lives, and this appears to be the case with Doherty seen smiling this week.
"A couple of decades ago, to have a brain metastasis was a very bad prognosis for patients. They didn't live for more than a couple of months, so it was a very terminal thing. Thanks to a lot of advancements in microsurgery we do and radiation…patients are living longer," Dr. Hoang said.
Managing Emotions After a Cancer Diagnosis
Shannen Doherty's willingness to talk about the fear she felt in these recent months shows just how intense and overwhelming a cancer journey can be for survivors and the incredible emotions that can be felt.
Licensed clinical social worker Sarah Stapleton previously told SurvivorNet that you should be "patient with your emotions" and communicate what you need from those around you as you process the news.
MORE: A Social Worker's Insights Into Handling a Cancer Diagnosis
"The way people respond is very variable," New York-based psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik said in an earlier interview. "Very much consistent with how they respond to stresses and challenges in their life in general."
Plutchik stresses that your emotions, like the ones Doherty is dealing with, are valid during this journey.
"People have a range of emotions when they're diagnosed with cancer," Dr. Plutchik explained. "And they can include fear, anger … and these emotions tend to be fluid.
"They can recede and return based on where someone is in the process. Going through a cancer diagnosis is just the beginning of a complicated, complicated process."
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Dr. Plutchik also explained that the patient and their family members should accept that they may feel fine one day and then feel a massive wave of stress the next.
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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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