Shannen & Santa
- Actress Shannen Doherty has been battling metastatic breast cancer since last February, and shared a throwback picture of her and Santa in a holiday-themed post.
- Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and it later returned in 2020.
- Coping with a cancer diagnosis can be helped with tools like therapy and support groups.
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Shannen’s Breast Cancer Battle
Doherty was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. The diagnosis came after she found a lump on her breast. After undergoing treatment for her first round of breast cancer, it went into remission. And in February of this year, Doherty shared that her breast cancer had returned. This time, the cancer was metastatic, meaning that it has spread or metastasized to other parts of her body.
Breast cancer treatment is typically dependent upon the stage and prognosis of the disease. Common treatments for breast cancer include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. Dr. Elizabeth Comen, a Medical Oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, discussed in an earlier interview the treatment options for earlier stage breast cancer. “Triple negative breast cancer means that it’s breast cancer that does not have the estrogen receptor on the outside of it, the progesterone receptor, or the HER2 receptor. So the estrogen receptor and progesterone receptor help determine whether patients need hormonal therapy.”
Related: Breaking Down the Major Shift in Chemotherapy for Breast Cancer
Dr. Comen explained, “The HER2 receptor helps determine whether patients need any HER2-directed therapies. If a patient doesn’t have any of those on the outside of their breast cancer and they have early stage breast cancer, meaning that the cancer has not spread beyond the breast or potentially the lymph nodes underneath the armpit, the mainstay of the treatment that we provide is chemotherapy. There are different types of chemotherapy regimens that we use.”
Treatment for Early Stage Triple-Negative Breast Cancer
Coping with a Cancer Diagnosis
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is a difficult moment for many. Many people experience feelings of grief and depression after hearing that they have cancer. These feelings of grief can be helped by reaching out to loved ones, or by speaking with a therapist or joining a support group.
Related: 5 Well-Known Breast Cancer Survivors Share Lessons They've Learned During Their Journey
When Camila Legaspi was in high school, she lost her mom to breast cancer. In a previous interview, Legaspi told us how therapy helped her cope with the pain of losing her mom to cancer. Legaspi said, “Therapy saved my life. I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point. It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings. The reality is, is when you lose someone, it’s really, really, really hard. And it’s totally OK to talk to someone.”
"Therapy Saved My Life" After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
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