Shannen Doherty had opened up about feeling “hopeful” amid a new round of chemotherapy in what would be the weeks prior to her death.
Doherty lost her long battle with cancer and died Saturday at 53.
On the June 23 episode of her Let’s Be Clear With Shannen Doherty podcast, the actress shared her latest health update and the fear and hope that came with it. Doherty was battling stage 4 breast cancer after first being diagnosed in 2015. In a People cover story in November, she revealed the cancer had spread to her bones.
“It becomes very real in an incredibly different way, because I have no idea how long I’m gonna be on the chemo for,” she said on her podcast at the time. “I have no idea if it’s gonna be, you know, three months or if it’s gonna be six months or if we’re gonna you know, if after three months, it’s not working, if we’re gonna change again. That’s not something that I can predict. It’s not something my doctors can predict. And it’s scary. It’s like a big wake up call.”
The Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed alum went on to add, “At the same time, I have to say, there is some positivity there and the positive is that because my molecular structure of my cancer cells changed recently, it means there are a lot more protocols for me to try. For the first time in a couple of months probably, I feel hopeful? Before I was hopeful but I was still getting prepared.”
Given that she was going on “two different chemos within the same day,” Doherty had noted how it was “a little scary,” especially given she wasn’t sure how she was going to feel. She also shared, “This will be the third time I’ve lost my hair.”
“I feel like my life has been unknown for over a year now. Between divorce and cancer, it’s like I have no grasp on it. And I have no control… and with cancer, there really is no controlling it,” she said.
“I don’t want to lose my hair. I don’t want to be sick. I want to be a normal person,” she said. She also explained that she had considered the idea of having “quality of life over quantity of life” but she said, “I know that my quality of life is actually being here longer. My quality of life is reaching my goals and staying with my family as long as I can and really pressing the organizations that I work very closely with on a cure and research clinics … I’m not the person who likes to give up very easily. I just don’t want my sickness to last that very long.”
“And as far as health goes, you know, fingers crossed, I’m praying for the best and tell you I’m not going anywhere right now, and tell you that the new researchers that I’m involved with that are helping me cope with all of this, along with my main doctor, I really believe in. I have a lot of faith in,” she said.
In the last episode of Let’s Be Clear — released on Monday, July 8, before her death — Doherty had announced alongside her friend and former Charmed costar Holly Marie Combs that she was joining the Charmed rewatch podcast The House of Halliwell hosted by Combs, Brian Krause and Drew Fuller. It is unclear how many episodes of the podcast were recorded prior to Doherty’s death.
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” publicist Leslie Sloane said in a statement to People over the weekend. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.”
