Shannen Doherty, 52, Starting Podcast After Brain Surgery for Stage 4 Cancer, Says ‘Charmed’ Co-Star Holly Marie Combs: ‘She’s Never Been Stronger’

Doherty has been open about her struggles with stage 4 breast cancer for quite some time. Most recently, she shared that her cancer had spread to her brain and she needed further treatments as a result.

On Jan. 12, 2023, Doherty underwent her first round of radiation to her head. Then, on Jan. 16, 2023, she underwent brain surgery to remove and biopsy a tumor.

Combs Ryan and Doherty were reportedly close friends for many years before starring alongside each other in the cult favorite TV show “Charmed.” And that friendship has seemingly remained strong, according to a clip from a recent podcast episode surfaced.

This kinda broke me. @H_Combs gives an update on how @DohertyShannen is doing after the recent revelations she’s made about her health on the last episode of #HouseOfHalliwell.

So good to hear Shannen is doing great!

Holly, thank you for opening your heart and sharing this ❤️ pic.twitter.com/qFeiL29zPr

Dimitris Garefalakis (@EnterTheAttic) June 14, 2023

“I want people to know, and [Doherty] wants me to say, that she’s, she’s doing really well,” Combs Ryan said on her “Charmed” rewatch podcast called “The House of Halliwell.”

Combs Ryan went on to say the timing of Doherty’s recent cancer updates has been tough given that she’s also going currently through a divorce with Kurt Iswarienko her husband of 11 years.

“And I want people to know that this happened to her six months ago, so she’s been dealing with this for six months,” she explained. “And it was really… tragic timing because it wasn’t just this, it was, you know, she had found out that she needed to get a divorce and it was really insult to injury.

“So, she’s been going through it for these six months, and I have to say when I talk to her today, it’s like you know you give her the hits and she just keeps on coming ’cause she’s never been stronger, she feels really good.”

RELAETD: Shannen Doherty's Brain Surgery To Remove Cancer The Risks Involved and Will It Work? Neurosurgeons Say 'Patients Are Living Longer'

In another update, Combs Ryan revealed that Doherty would soon be starting her own podcast.

“I’m really happy to say she’s gonna be doing a podcast, and it’s gonna be weekly and she’s got a pretty big deal happening right now so everybody across the world can see it,” she said. “I think it’ll be good for her, in fact, I know it will.”

There is no other word on an air date for Doherty’s podcast or what exactly it will be about.

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.

The Major Change That Every Metastatic Breast Cancer Patient Should Get Tested For SurvivorNet Adviser Dr. Elizabeth Comen On 'GMA'

When breast cancer is considered metastatic, that means it has spread, or metastasized, beyond the breasts to other parts of the body. Most commonly, metastatic breast cancer spreads to the bones, liver and lungs, but it can also spread to places like the brain.

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.

"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."

Metastatic Breast Cancer: You Are Not a Statistic

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.

We don’t know exactly how sh’e doing at the moment, but several neurosurgeons tell SurvivorNet that the procedure can allow patients with cancer in their brain to live longer, more vibrant lives.

"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.

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