The Full Story of Shannen Doherty's Battle with Breast Cancer

Eight years of public cancer treatment, actress Shannen Doherty has shared her accomplishments and challenges with friends and fans. The Beverly Hills 90210 alum updates her health on Instagram and her podcast, Let’s Be Clear. Even discussing her date preferences.

Many things have changed since the 52-year-old disclosed her 2015 breast cancer diagnosis. After surgery and remission, her cancer returned.

She just revealed that her illness has spread and that she’s arranging a funeral, but she’s still hopeful.

She announced her breast cancer in 2015, making headlines. Her former company manager was sued for “failing to pay her insurance premiums,” CNN said. She said this kept her from seeking medical attention that may have caught the disease early. The complaint claimed that her disease “had spread during 2014 when she was uninsured due to her ex-manager’s alleged error” and that “if the cancer had been caught earlier, she wouldn’t have had chemotherapy and a mastectomy,” the source added.

After revealing her cancer diagnosis, Shannen began posting daily updates on Instagram about her treatments and mood.

In 2016, she took heartbreaking images of herself shaving her head throughout chemotherapy.

“I had breast cancer that spread to the lymph nodes, and from one of my surgeries we discovered that some of the cancer cells might have actually gone out of the lymph nodes,” she said. “So for that reason, we are doing chemo, and then after chemo, I’ll do radiation.”

Shannen also discussed her future anxieties.

“The unknown is always the scariest part,” she told. Will chemotherapy work? Is radiation effective? Will I have to repeat this or have secondary cancer? We can handle everything else. The concern of your future and how it will effect your loved ones is worse than the pain of living without a breast.”

On April 28, 2017, the actress shared a touching Instagram photo announcing her remission. Shannen sits with her head in her hands on the floor.

Shannen got her breast rebuilt two and a half years after her mastectomy and spent Mother’s Day in the hospital.

In February 2020, court records disclosed Shannen’s stage 4 cancer diagnosis. The records ET acquired said that Shannen was “dying of stage 4 terminal cancer.”

Metastatic breast cancer, or stage 4 breast cancer, has spread. Treatment is possible but not cure.

Shannen announced that her brain cancer was in a video of her obtaining a mask for further radiation.

You can see my dread. In the caption, she said she was claustrophobic and had a lot going on. Dr. Amin Mirahdi and the Cedar Sinai technicians are fantastic, so I’m lucky. Cancer can be characterized by dread, stress, and timing.

Shannen revealed her burial arrangements on a January 15 podcast with Chris Cortazzo. She said, “This is such a morbid conversation, but it’s so fun.”

“My remains should be mixed with my dog and dad. I refuse burial and cremation “Shannan remarked.

She said her and her dad spent “precious time” in Malibu, California, and she could want her ashes to grow into a tree and be dispersed somewhere they loved.

Shannen likes a lesser funeral guest list since her reject list is “way too long.” On the podcast, she indicated she expects many undesirables.

Shannen hopes new therapies could lengthen her life.

“I always say we need to squeeze out another three to five years, and then T-cell therapy or this,” she remarked. “More possibilities will offer another five years. In five years, there will be more alternatives and a cure.”