‘It Just Opens Your Heart’ — Actor Shannen Doherty Talks about Her Cancer Journey

“Of course, you're sitting there, hooked up to an IV and you're getting chemo and you're throwing up and, you know, you really have to count on the people around you,” she said, “whether it be family or the nurse who's administering [treatment], or the patient next to you who's going through the same thing, who's like holding your hand through it. It just opens your heart, at least it did for me."

Cancer, Doherty also told Yahoo, has “solidified everything for me of what I should feel about myself and where my priorities should be,” which means no more proving her worth to others, but doing what she needs to feel happy and fulfilled.

 

Breast Cancer Screening Guidelines

Doherty also encouraged women to get screened. There is consensus that women should have annual mammograms between the ages of 45 and 54. But there’s some disagreement among doctors as to whether mammograms are beneficial for women between the ages of 40 and 45. This is an option women should, of course, discuss with their own doctors.

If someone is older than 55, they can choose to continue with annual mammograms or opt to have one every two years, Dr. Connie Lehman, chief of the Breast Imaging Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. If someone is post-menopausal, Dr. Lehman said, they may be able to reduce the frequency of the mammograms to every other year.

Dr. Connie Lehman, Chief of the Breast Imaging Clinic at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of Radiology at Harvard Medical School on when to get screened for breast cancer

Again, this is a personal choice and should be carefully considered with a doctor. And if someone fits into the high-risk category, meaning they have a first-degree relative who has had breast cancer, had the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutation, or had radiation to the chest area when they were young, Dr. Lehman said to start yearly mammogram screening as early as age 30.

SurvivorNet’s medical reviewers also say mammograms are needed regardless of family history because most women with breast cancer have no family history or other identifiable risk factors.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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