Doherty's Empowered Approach
- In a post shared to Instagram, actress Shannen Doherty highlights poet Beau Taplin’s words about persistence.
- The actress is currently fighting metastatic breast cancer; she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015, and in 2020, she announced her cancer was back and that it had spread.
- Having a positive and persistent attitude through cancer can help make the journey easier.
Doherty shared a quote from songwriter and poet Beau Taplin, which read: “She was unstoppable, not because she did not have failures or doubts, but because she continued on despite them.”
Read MoreView this post on InstagramShe captions the post, writing, “You ever find that you have so much to say that you can't say anything? ”
Fans and followers were quick to praise Doherty. One Instagram user, @charmed1998.id, writes, “You are an inspiration.” And @nathmystik says, “Just keep going every day.” Another says it came at just the write time “Just the quote I needed. Thank you, Shannen,” says @alicia_elysian.
Doherty’s Breast Cancer Battle
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump in her breast which turned out to be cancerous. She had hormone therapy to fight her cancer, but it was ineffective and the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
Doherty underwent a single mastectomy and also had chemotherapy and radiation. After going into remission, she 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 (a single mastectomy), is a common treatment path for many people fighting 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?
The Power of Persistence & Positivity
We love how Doherty shares these powerful words with fans focused on persistence in the face of challenges. Colorectal surgeon Dr. Zuri Murrell says that having a positive and upbeat attitude like this 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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