Metastatic Breast Cancer- Finding Support
- Actress Shannen Doherty’s “Beverly Hills 90210” costar Jason Priestly has praised the beloved actress as a “fighter” during her courageous metastatic breast cancer journey.
- Priestley and Doherty played fraternal twins (Brandon and Brenda Walsh) on the 1990s TV series hit “90210,” and although they are not related in real life, it’s great to see the close bond of support they’ve had for each other throughout the years—something Priestly further proved in a recent interview.
- Doherty has battled breast cancer since 2015. Although the cancer went into remission in 2017, it returned as stage 4 cancer in 2019, meaning it has spread to other body parts, including her brain. She underwent brain surgery to remove a tumor last year. Since the surgery, Doherty’s remained in good spirits and an inspiration to anyone battling disease.
- A cancer diagnosis can be extremely stressful. One way SurvivorNet experts encourage cancer patients to alleviate some of that stress by leaning on their support system, just like Doherty does with her friends.
- A support system can be made up of loved ones like family and friends. It can also be comprised of strangers who have come together because of a shared cancer experience. Mental health professionals can also be critical parts of a support system.
Priestley and Doherty played fraternal twins (Brandon and Brenda Walsh) on the 1990s TV series hit “90210,” and although they are not related in real life, it’s great to see the close bond of support they’ve had for each other throughout the years—something Priestly further proved in a recent interview.
Read MoreView this post on Instagram
Priestley, also known for his role as Richard “Fitz” Fitzpatrick in “Call Me Fitz” and as Matt Shade in the Canadian TV series “Private Eyes,” added: “When you have a platform to be able to deliver any sort of inspirational message to people, I think it’s important.
“I think it’s really awesome that Shannen is opening up about everything.”
When asked he and Doherty keep in touch, he said, “Oh yeah, of course.” Priestley was also question on whether Doherty’s upcoming funeral plans to have only people she’s close with was “true to her personality,” and he replied, “Definitely.”
The podcast episode they’re referring to was aired earlier this month, where Doherty said, “I was pleasantly surprised at my dad’s [funeral] of who showed up. But it made me start thinking about who would show up to mine.here’s a lot of people that I think would show up that I don’t want there. I don’t want them there. Because the reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons.
“They don’t actually really like me enough to show up to my funeral. But they will, because it’s the politically correct thing to do, and they don’t want to look bad. And so, I kind of want to take that pressure off of them.”
She continued, “I don’t mind my fans showing up… Those are people who’ve supported me my entire life and my career… I love them. That’s different. I’m talking about people that really don’t like me. I just don’t want those people there. And I know who they are. I want my funeral to be like a love fest.”
Doherty also admitted on her podcast, further showing how determined she is to make the most of her life, “Obviously my biggest thing is I just don’t want to die too soon, cause I have a lot to accomplish.”
There’s no doubt Doherty is the epitome of strength as she continues to fight stage four breast cancer and has also dealt with divorce from her long-time husband Kurt Iswarienko. Despite the hardship she’s been dealt with, Doherty has maintained hope and toughness amid adversity, with her supportive friends and loved ones by her side, including Priestly.
In an earlier interview with Studio 10, Priestley said Doherty was in “pretty good spirits” when he last spoke to her. “Shannen is a real tough girl,” said Priestly in 2020. “Shannen’s a fighter, and she’s always been a fighter, and I know she’ll continue to fight as hard as she can.”
Speaking to People magazine around that time Doherty revealed her cancer had returned, Priestley also said, “Shannen was a big part of my life, [she] and I will always have a bond that is very meaningful I’m very heartbroken about the news.”
Shannen Doherty’s Cancer Battle
Shannen Doherty first received a breast cancer diagnosis in 2015 after she discovered 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.
Sometimes Bad Things Happen — Enjoying Life, Even With Cancer
Then in 2017, Doherty was deemed to be in remission, however, the cancer returned just two years later in 2019 as metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer.
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.
Doherty took to Instagram earlier this year to recap how her cancer fight is going. She underwent her first round of radiation to her head on Jan. 12, 2023, followed by brain surgery to remove and biopsy a tumor on Jan. 16, 2023. The surgery she underwent is called a craniotomy.
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 who has recently been taken to Instagram to share photos and videos of time spent with friends and recent interviews of her podcast “Lets Be Clear.”
Power of Support
A cancer diagnosis can be extremely stressful. One way SurvivorNet experts encourage cancer patients to alleviate some of that stress by leaning on their support system, just like Doherty does with her friends.
A support system can be made up of loved ones like family and friends. It can also be comprised of strangers who have come together because of a shared cancer experience. Mental health professionals can also be critical parts of a support system.
WATCH: Sharing Details About Your Cancer Diagnosis.
“Some people don’t need to go outside of their family and friend’s circle. They feel like they have enough support there,” psychiatrist Dr. Lori Plutchik told SurvivorNet.
“But for people who feel like they need a little bit more, it’s important to reach out to a mental health professional,” Dr. Plutchik added.
Dr. Plutchik also stressed it is important for people supporting cancer warriors to understand their emotions can vary day-to-day. “People can have a range of emotions, 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,” she explained.
Meanwhile, Dr. Charmain Jackman, a licensed psychologist and founder of InnoPsych, echoes SurvivorNet experts on the benefits of positive mental health while facing a health diagnosis.
Dr. Jackman explained, “In the face of a life-threatening diagnosis, fear, hopelessness, and despair can quickly take space in your mind. However, your mindset is a superpower and can be a potent antidote to illness.
“Practicing gratitude, cultivating joy, and connecting to the community are practical ways to develop a resilient mindset.”
How to Talk to a Friend With Cancer: Don’t Say Stupid Stuff
Meanwhile, if you’re wondering how can you support a loved on in your life who is fighting cancer, SurvivorNet suggests multiple ways you can do so.
Dr. Shelly Tworoger, a researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center told SurvivorNet that “there’s a number of common things cancer patients can experience, such as anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation and sometimes even PTSD.” So helping to ease those feelings is a great way to support your loved one.
You can help complete household chores or running errands during the day, which your loved one may not have the time or energy to do. Or, you can simply lend an ear so patients can talk through their feelings, which can help them cope with what they are experiencing during this difficult time.
There are some practical tips to help you interact with your loved one in a meaningful way. Our experts suggest to avoid asking how you can help. Instead, be proactive and offer tangible things you can do for them to make their lives easier. That could include bringing them food, cooking them dinner or playing a board game with them, anything that will bring them joy.
READ MORE: Family Love and Support Makes a World of Difference During Cancer Treatment
You may also be interested in sending them gifts to help them through their cancer journey. Our gift guide for cancer patients offers several suggestions for meaningful items you can give your loved one, such as bubble bath supplies for a night of self care or a nice, warm blanket for comfort during a chemo session.
Understanding Stage 4 (Metastatic) Breast Cancer
Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer, means that the cancer has spread to distant areas of the body. Even though there is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer, doctors have many options to treat this stage advanced stage of breast cancer. Shannen Doherty is a perfect example as to how people can live happily despite battling the disease.
Hormone therapy, chemotherapy and targeted drugs are all options to talk to her doctor about, depending on your individual needs. Sometimes surgery and/or radiation is considered as part of the treatment, but mainly it is important to focus on improving your quality of life.
Expert Metastatic Breast Cancer Resources
- Have You Been Diagnosed With Late-Stage Breast Cancer? Know That You Have Treatment Options.
- Advances in Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatments Over the Last Year Offer New Hope for Those Fighting
- HER2-Positive Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment Options Explained
- Metastatic Breast Cancer: You Are Not a Statistic
- PARP Inhibitors Provide New Promise for Certain Metastatic Breast Cancers
- Understanding Gene Mutations in Your Metastatic Breast Cancer Diagnosis Is Crucial to Your Treatment
The treatment plan for metastatic breast cancer patients depends on the specific needs of the woman, whether they need an aggressive chemotherapy or depending on the doctor’s assessment, they may benefit from another medication.
For hormone receptive positive cancer breast cancer patients, doctors try to see how long they can keep patients on oral therapies. Very often, newly diagnosed metastatic hormone receptive-positive breast cancers (where cells have either estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR) receptors or both) respond best with different hormonal medications, and sometimes for many many years.
Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Erica Mayer, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, says clinical trials have shown that hormone medicines are more effective when paired with targeted therapies. At some point, chemotherapy will be introduced. And according to Dr. Mayer, it’s delivered at a dose and schedule that’s as well-tolerated as possible.
“We are so lucky in breast cancer that we have so many effective and well-tolerated treatments,” Dr. Mayer tells SurvivorNet. I’m so gratified to see that patients are doing better and living longer today with metastatic breast cancer than they have ever done before.”
Bottom line, there are more and more options becoming available for patients to manage symptoms of advanced stage disease, and it’s best to talk about specific treatment plans and what is best for you with your own doctor.
Metastatic Breast Cancer Treatment Options
Treatment for metastatic breast cancer focuses on decreasing the spread of cancer cells, as well as relieving symptoms and improving quality of life. Individual treatment options depend on the stage, type of primary breast cancer, and whether hormone receptors are positive. There is no one size fits all treatment.
Treatment can include a combination of:
- Chemotherapy: Oral or IV medications that are toxic to tumor cells
- Hormonal therapies: Drugs that lower estrogen levels or block estrogen receptors from allowing the cancer cells to grow
- Targeted therapies: Drugs that target your tumor’s specific gene mutations
- Immunotherapy: Medications that stimulate your immune system to recognize and attack cancer cells
- Radiation: The use of high-energy rays to kill tumor cells and shrink tumors
- Surgery: To remove a cancerous tumor or lymph nodes (uncommon with stage IV; more common in stages I, II, and III)
- Clinical trials: Studies of new medications, treatments, and other therapies offer hope for better outcomes
If the initial breast cancer treatments fail to work, it’s important to know there are new treatments that have recently reaped success. For example, early results from a recent study released at a European oncological conference show that ENHERTU—a type of drug called an antibody conjugate, which could be a game changer for women with HER2 positive metastatic breast cancer—is reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 72 percent when administered as the second line of treatment compared to the current standard of care drug.
RELATED: New Hope for Breast Cancer Warriors: ENHERTU Therapy
Additionally, a new treatment option, Trodelvy, is also offering breast cancer warriors hope.
Trodelvy (molecular name sacituzumab govitecan) is also what’s known as an antibody-drug conjugate. It works by becoming attached to an antibody that recognizes cancer cells and delivers the cancer-killing medicine directly to the cancer cells.
RELATED: How To Treat Metastatic Breast Cancer: The Drug Trodelvy Shows A Promising Boost In Survival Rates
Meanwhile, cancer treatment drugs trastuzumab (brand name Herceptin) and pertuzumab (brand name Perjeta) are drugs often combined with chemotherapy, and together, they have proven effective at controlling breast cancer once it has spread.
For women with hormone-receptor-positive and HER2-negative breast cancer new drug treatments are available. The drugs are called CDK4/6 inhibitors. The FDA approved three of these kinds of drugs:
- palbociclib (Ibrance)
- ribociclib (Kisqali)
- abemaciclib (Verzenio)
These drugs are effective at decreasing the amount of estrogen that can be taken into a cancer cell with the goal of slowing the rate at which that cancer cell can expand. For women who are estrogen receptor-positive, their cancer needs estrogen to grow. These CDK4/6 inhibitors mitigate that growth.
An Overview of Treatment Options for Metastatic Breast Cancer
Clinical Trials Offer Hope, but They’re Not for Everyone
Doherty previously revealed she’s exploring clinical trials with hopes of finding a new treatment to aid her on her metastatic breast cancer journey. To learn more about clinical trials for breast cancer, check out SurvivorNet’s Patient Pathfinder.
Studies of new treatment options are called clinical trials, and they are an essential part of medicine for two reasons:
- Clinical trials help doctors better understand cancer and discover more effective treatment methods.
- They also allow patients to try a treatment before it’s approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which can be life-changing.
WATCH: Clinical Trials Help Find New Treatment Options
Dr. Beth Karlan is a gynecologic oncologist at UCLA Health. She says the goal with clinical trials is to advance cancer research to a point where the disease becomes akin to diabetes, where it becomes a manageable condition.
“Clinical trials hopefully can benefit you, but is also providing very, very vital information to the whole scientific community about the effectiveness of these treatments,” Dr. Karlan said. “They can be lifesaving. In the last few years, we’ve seen many children and adults who have participated in trials and had miraculous results.”
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.