Helping Others Amid Cancer
- Beloved actress Shannen Doherty, 52, often takes to social media while battling stage 4 breast cancer. She recently shared a video in support of the volunteers sending supplies to help Maui as wildfires plague the island. Being able to help others while dealing with one’s own health battle is truly inspiring. We love to see Doherty’s kindness and empathy toward others.
- Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. It went into remission in 2017 but returned as stage 4 cancer in 2019.
- Her breast cancer spread to her brain causing her to undergo surgery to remove a tumor in her brain. Since brain surgery, Doherty’s recovery appears to be going well and supporting others in need.
- Challenging oneself can actually help people facing cancer, chronic disease, or other problems to develop resilience, which is an essential coping tool. That process of pushing oneself to try new things is one of the “three wellsprings of vitality,” according to Dr. Samantha Boardman. The other two are connecting with others and contributing to the lives of people around you.
- “Those are the cores of vitality, and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman explains.
The “Beverly Hills 90210” star took to her Instagram story this week to further show her fans and loved ones how she exudes kindness and empathy by sharing video of a supply station with water and other goods being loaded for Maui, Hawaii, where wildfires have plagued the island, prompting more than 800 people to go missing and a death toll of at least 114.
The originally post by the organization reads, “Our vessel from Oahu to Maui is heading out! Pallets of water. Dog and cat food. Butane. Stoves. Lamps. Lights. Tables. Tents. Generators. Hygiene products. Baby supplies and food.”
“Over $20,000 in essentials for the people, donated by our people, supporters and families. Thank you for everyone who helped to make this happen. To all those who assisted with logistics. To the captain of our vessel and the Maui team on standby to receive the goods,” the foundation explained.
“For those looking to donate – we are still planning to send over bikes and toys for children. Will be passing out gift cards, and other essentials to those that need the help.”
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In a followup post, showing footage of the supplies being unloaded onto the shore of Maui, the non-profit praised the “outpouring of local support,” writing, “After losing loved ones, their residences, businesses – and every memory that they built inside of their homes, Hawaii is always about strength and family.”
“As we stood on the top of a skid that we loaded with supplies to take to land from our vessel, fifty plus people were waiting on shore to help receive the items,” the caption read. “We could hear everyone on their radios calling to the makeshift communities nearby saying – 20,000lbs of aid just arrived with water, baby supplies, hygiene, tables, propane, stoves, lights, dog and cat food.”
“In Hawaii Ohana means family. Under all the things we wear, the lifestyle we live and the money we make – in the end the only thing that matters is family,” the post concluded.
Back in 2017, Doherty made an appearance at the Animal Hope and Wellness Foundation’s Gratitude Gala in Los Angeles, where she told US Weekly on the red carpet, following chemo, “I feel great. I mean, I feel good, I’m super positive, I’m happy with where I’m at right now.
“Cancer, for me, as hard as it is, has been a blessing. It has changed who I am as a human being forever. It’s altered my life in ways I can’t even speak of.”
It’s great to see Shannen continuing to do good for others as her cancer journey continues.
Helping Others & Starting Over After a Life Changing Event
How To Start Over After a Life-Changing Event
As Shannen Doherty continues to be empathetic and kind toward others during her cancer battle, it’s important to be aware that starting over is arduous, but it can be done. Here’s how:
- Examine your thoughts. Take time to reflect on the tragedy or difficulty you are facing. Dr. Scott Irwin tells SurvivorNet that, often, people with cancer and chronic disease are “grieving the change in their life, the future they had imagined is now different.”
- Seek help. Irwin, who directs Supportive Care Services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, adds that talk therapy can help people significantly: “It’s about meeting the individual patient where they are and their feelings, how they’ve always dealt with their body image, what the body image changes mean now in their lives and their relationships, and how they can move forward given the new reality.
- Realize that you are not the first. Study the lives of other people who have faced similar difficulties. Dr. Samantha Boardman tells SurvivorNet, “Having support we know is really critical in the healing process.” She adds there is also a benefit in “talking to those who’ve, you know, been through this process, who are maybe a couple of steps ahead of you, who can tell you what it’s like to walk in their shoes and the unbelievable wisdom that one can gain from speaking to them.”
- Visualize the future. Imagine what it will look like for you to start over. Many people find it very helpful to create a vision board. Cut out pictures or quotes or mementos that give you a concrete picture of your future. Look to it when you are feeling down or in need of a lift. The good news? It works.
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.
Then in 2017, Doherty was deemed to be in remission, however, the cancer returned just two years later in 2019.
This time, her diagnosis was 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.
“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.”
Doherty took to Instagram last month 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.
“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, a board-certified neurosurgeon at Emory University School of Medicine, explained.
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 seen smiling this week.
“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.
The Pathways To Resilience
Challenging oneself can actually help people facing cancer, chronic disease, or other problems to develop resilience, which is an essential coping tool.
That process of pushing oneself to try new things is one of the “three wellsprings of vitality,” according to Dr. Samantha Boardman. The other two are connecting with others and contributing to the lives of people around you.
“Those are the cores of vitality, and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman explains.
Mental Health: Understanding the Three Wellsprings of Vitality
These pathways can help someone develop the strength needed to survive or manage a difficult situation, but they all come back to having a positive outlook.
According to Dr. Boardman, these three wellsprings of vitality are:
- Connecting. This involves how you’re connecting with others and having meaningful interactions. It involves being a good listener and being engaged with the people around you who you care about.
- Contribution. How are you adding value to the people around you? Are you helping them in ways that feel meaningful to them? Basically, this entails contributing/engaging with others in a meaningful way.
- Feeling challenged. Being “positively challenged” could involve learning something new (perhaps by taking a new class or reading an interesting book) and expanding your mind in some way.
“Those are the cores of vitality, and the core pathways to enhance your everyday resilience,” Dr. Boardman said.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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