Shannen Doherty is opening up about her cancer, which she says has now spread to her bones.
“My greatest memory is yet to come,” Doherty, 52, told People in a story published Wednesday. “I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.”
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. The disease went into remission in 2017 after a mastectomy and chemotherapy, but Doherty was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer in 2020. She said earlier this year that it had spread to her brain.
“I don’t want to die,” she told People in this week’s story.
The “Charmed” star appeared resilient after filing for divorce in April from Kurt Iswarienko after 12 years of marriage. She and posted on Instagram at the time: “The only people who deserve to be in your life are the ones who treat you with love, kindness and total respect.”
Sarah Michelle Gellar, Doherty’s friend and fellow actor, recently praised her as “a warrior.”
Doherty is chronicling her eight-year experience with cancer in a new podcast series, “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.” The iHeartRadio project is meant to serve as a memoir of sorts — and to embody Doherty’s current attitude.
“I’m not done with living,” she told People. “I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I’m just not — I’m not done.”
Doherty told the outlet that being diagnosed with cancer and entering remission, only receive a stage 4 diagnosis, “leads you to look for the bigger purpose in life.” She ultimately decided to tackle the illness straight on, and named her brain tumor “Bob” to find some levity.
Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images
Doherty is nonetheless frustrated at how differently she’s been treated since the diagnosis.
“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work,” the actor told People. “They put you out to pasture at a very early age — ‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not. We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life.”
“We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward,” she continued.
Doherty, one of more than 168,000 women in the U.S. living with metastatic breast cancer, is now hoping for approval in clinical trials of a new treatment. She said she’s simply not ready to give up, as every moment has become priceless.
“I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you’re just more aware of everything, and you feel so blessed,” she told People. “We’re the people who want to work the most, because we’re just so grateful for every second, every hour, every day we get to be here.”