Shannen Works Through Cancer
- On Instagram, breast cancer fighter Shannen Doherty, 50, shared a still from her new film, The Fortress, which she stars in with actor Bruce Willis.
- Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump in her breast; in 2020 her cancer had returned and spread to other parts of the body.
- Working while battling cancer may be a positive distraction for some; keeping a positive mindset through cancer may impact outcomes.
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On the Instagram post, Doherty’s bestie Sarah Michelle Gellar comments on Bruce’s beat-up look, “What did you do to him?!?” And the film’s director, Bressack, comments, “Boss dog Doherty! Happy to be directing you again. Truly is an honor to have directed you 6 times over the 8 years we’ve known each other. You are Such a powerhouse! Great work today! Brought me to tears!.”
Shannen’s Cancer Battle
Shannen Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump in her breast which turned out to be cancerous. Doherty had hormone therapy to fight the cancer, but it was ineffective and the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
Related: Breast Cancer: Overview
Doherty underwent a single mastectomy, and she also had chemotherapy and radiation. After going into remission, Doherty announced in February 2020 that her cancer returned, and this time it had spread to other parts of her body.
Surgery, like the kind Doherty had, is a common treatment path for many people facing breast cancer. In an earlier interview, Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute explains the path to surgery. She says, "So when I talk to a woman who comes to me and she has breast cancer, I evaluate what the standard options for treatment for her are, which typically include cutting out the cancer which is either a lumpectomy if you can get it all with just a little scooping around of the area that's abnormal or a mastectomy for some women meaning taking the full breast because sometimes these lesions can be very extensive in the breast."
When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
Working During Cancer
For some people, continuing one’s professional life while also battling cancer can be a helpful means of distracting yourself or at least temporarily diverting your energy from your current health struggles. The added activity of work may be a welcome way to take your mind off of your cancer if you’re physically in a position to continue working. (And if not, there are workarounds, too.)
Dr. Zuri Murrell is a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai and he says that having a positive and upbeat attitude (which can come from the workplace) may help with cancer outcomes. Dr. Murrell says in a previous interview, “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,” he says. “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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