Shannen Doherty’s eight-year battle with breast cancer has not been easy. She shared an update on her health in a recent Instagram post, writing, “Early morning doctors visit for scans.”
“Through blurry eyes. My hair was a disaster, but the new bandage wraps made my day!” She captioned the shot with “#cancerslayer” and her pink bandages.
Doherty discovered a lump in her breast in 2015 and was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had to undergo radiation, chemotherapy, and a single mastectomy after a period of hormone treatment.
Doherty’s cancer went into remission in 2017. Unfortunately, cancer reappeared in February 2020. Her illness has also damaged other parts of her body.
Breast cancer is classified into four stages, 0 through IV, with higher numbers indicating a more invasive malignancy or how far the malignant cells have moved outside of the primary tumor.
The Mayo Clinic defines stage 0 as a disease that is noninvasive or contained within the milk ducts, whereas stage IV (also known as metastatic breast cancer, which Doherty is in) indicates that the cancer has migrated to other parts of the body.
More than 150,000 breast cancer survivors in the United States are dealing with metastatic disease, according to the American Cancer Society.
Despite the fact that metastatic breast cancer is frequently incurable, research has revealed that because to technological advances, the life expectancy of those diagnosed with the disease has increased dramatically.
Doherty acted in two TV movies last year to help her get through the difficult years of cancer treatment: List of a Lifetime and Dying to Belong.
The actress has used social media to discuss various elements of her cancer struggle, including her chemotherapy experiences, over the years.
In an article from October of last year, she also divulged to her readers about her battle with breast cancer: “I endured many nose bleeds after the medication.”
“I’m not sure whether any of you have had this experience. I was also exhausted. To make myself feel better, I put on some amusing pajamas that my buddy Kristy had given me.”
“Did they truly help me feel better? Yes!! Lol. I was able to laugh at myself since I looked ridiculous. Laughter helped me get through what appeared to be an impossible situation. “I believe we can all laugh at the impossibility.”
