Shannen Doherty says she was afraid radiation might change her personality,
sharing that she worried that she would come out of treatment a different person.
Doherty did not say on her podcast exactly what infusion she is receiving.
In addition to the infusion, the actress said she is also undergoing radiation treatments, beams of intense energy meant to destroy tumor cells.
Research shows that long-term side effects of radiation can sometimes include mood or cognitive changes, as well as memory issues. Doherty described being scared of potential side effects of the radiation treatments she is receiving, saying, “I was petrified of, you know, is it going to change who I am?”
Doherty shared a positive update on her treatment for stage 4 breast cancer
thanks to what the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star called a “miracle” treatment.
“I’m on a new cancer infusion, and after four treatments, we didn’t really see a difference, and everybody wanted me to switch, and I just kind of was like we’re going to keep going with this and see,” Doherty said in a conversation While welcoming her radiation-oncologist, Dr. Amin Mirhadi, on Monday’s episode of her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast.
“After the sixth or seventh treatment, we really saw it breaking down the blood-brain barrier. Do I call that a miracle? For me, that happens to be a miracle right now, that, like, I sort of rolled the dice and said let’s keep going,” she said. Doherty did not name the exact infusion treatment she is undergoing, but she described it as a positive step in her ongoing battle with cancer.
MORE: Shannen Doherty gives update on stage 4 cancer: ‘I’m not done with living’
The success of the treatment may be “God intervening and being like I’m going to give her a break,” she added “radiation can be a very scary thing, especially when it’s to your brain, of course.” Shannen Doherty shared a positive update on her treatment for stage 4 breast cancer thanks to what the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star called a “miracle” treatment.
“I’m on a new cancer infusion, and after four treatments, we didn’t really see a difference, and everybody wanted me to switch, and I just kind of was like we’re going to keep going with this and see,” Doherty did not name the exact infusion treatment she is undergoing, but she described it as a positive step in her ongoing battle with cancer.
“After the sixth or seventh treatment, we really saw it breaking down the blood-brain barrier. Do I call that a miracle? For me, that happens to be a miracle right now, that,
like, I sort of rolled the dice and said let’s keep going,” she said.
The success of the treatment may be “God intervening and being like I’m going to give her a break,” she added. “I was petrified” and wondered, “‘Is it going to change who I am?’ That was, as you know, a big concern of mine.”
The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 52, added that she asked her doctor,
“Are you going to zap something? Am I not going to think as quickly?”
Doherty also said that she joked with her doctor about a desired side effect of the surgery — she hoped he would “touch the part of the brain that made me speak eight fluent languages.”
“He ignored me,” she deadpanned.
She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Since then, Doherty — who
underwent brain surgery and radiation last January — been open about her health journey. In a November PEOPLE cover story, the former Charmed star revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones — and she’s looking to “squeeze out another 3 to 5 years of life” while living with Stage 4 cancer.
She’s talked about the highs and lows of her journey, and on Monday’s podcast,
she revealed that her doctor gave her a photo of her “brain opened up.”
Related: CNN Anchor Sara Sidner Reveals Stage 3 Breast Cancer Diagnosis:
‘I Love My Life More Now’ (Exclusive)
Doherty says, “probably once a month — I’m going to really sound strange right now —
I look at the picture.” “He knows I’m like a weird nerd that way, and I look at it,” said Doherty, who didn’t keep the photo to herself.
Shannen Doherty had brain surgery in January 2023. Instagram
“I got home [and] I showed it to as many people as I possibly could,” she said.
“Some were horrified by it and some enjoyed it like I do.”
It’s part of Doherty’s mission to “live each day in as much of a positive manner, with a lot of hope” as she can — an attitude that Dr. Mirhadi says can indeed have a physical impact.
Related: Shannen Doherty Is Focused on How Her Cancer Treatments Can Help Her ‘Squeeze Out Another 3 to 5 Years’ of Life
“When you’re not as stressed out and anxious you’re not releasing as much cortisol which can have an effect,” he said. And too much cortisol, often called the “stress hormone,” can have a negative effect on the body, the Cleveland Clinic explains.
Doherty explained her attitude toward life, saying, “Listen, I can die today. I could die in 20 years. I could die walking outside of my house and ,you know, a tree falling on me or a bus hitting me or whatever. Or I can die of cancer.”
“I can do is live each day in in as much of a positive manner with a lot of hope as I can and embrace it and be like, ‘Wow, you know, I get to wake up again.'”
Shannen Doherty has shared a “miraculous” health update in her years-long battle
with cancer, describing a new kind of treatment that feels like God “is intervening”.
The American actor, best known for shows such as Charmed and Beverly Hills, 90210, first announced her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015. Doherty, 52, went into remission in 2017 but, in February 2020, confirmed the cancer had returned to stage four.
Last November, she told her fans the cancer had spread to her bones, but that she
will keep fighting the disease through treatment because “I’m not done with living”.
Now, Doherty has shared more positive news about receiving a “new cancer infusion”
that she says feels like divine intervention.
Doherty revealed stage four breast cancer diagnosis in 2020 (Getty Images)
She added her “decision to roll the dice” and continue the treatment
despite not seeing its early impact feels like a “miracle right now”.
“Do I call that a miracle? Yeah,” the Memphis native said. “For me, that happens
to be a miracle right now. That I sort of rolled the dice and said, ‘Let’s keep going.’”
Since the diagnosis in 2020, Doherty has been documenting her fight with cancer
on social media to capture the reality of living with the disease.
So far, she has undergone a mastectomy, chemo, and radiation therapies.
During a candid interview last November, Doherty said: “I’m not done with living.
I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully
changing things for the better,” she said. “I’m just not – I’m not done.”
She also reflected on learning the cancer had come back in 2020,
adding it led to her looking for “the bigger purpose in life”.
Doherty also said she hoped to get more involved in emerging clinical trials
for new forms of treatment, while “moving forward” with her life and continuing to work.
“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age – ‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,’” she said.
“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.” The “Beverly Hills 90210” alum said she started a new treatment to help with her stage 4 cancer diagnosis, calling it a “miracle.”
Shannen Doherty says she is undergoing ‘miracle’ cancer treatment
The actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.
January 30, 2024, 10:17 AM
By Katie Kindelan
Actress Shannen Doherty says she has received a “miracle” treatment nearly 10 years into her battle with breast cancer.
The “Charmed” and “Beverly Hills, 90210” actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, after which she underwent a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. In 2017, Doherty announced she was in remission.
Three years later, Doherty announced her breast cancer had returned and was stage 4.
Last year, she revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones and her brain, and that she had undergone surgery to get a tumor removed from her brain.
The blood-brain barrier is a physical membrane that surrounds the brain and acts as a gatekeeper to determine what substances are allowed in the brain, according to StatPearls, an online library published in the National Library of Medicine.
Dr. Leah Croll, a board-certified neurologist, said that in the past, it has been difficult to find treatments that treat brain tumors because of the blood-brain barrier.
“That means that not every medication can cross that barrier and get into the brain,
and it’s a big problem we have with treating neurologic diseases of all kinds,” Croll told “Good Morning America.” “Many of the chemotherapeutic agents that we have available to us actually do not cross that blood-brain barrier, which makes treating brain tumors a real challenge.”
MORE: Shannen Doherty discusses mindset, potential funeral plans amid stage 4 breast cancer battle
The severity of side effects a patient experiences from radiation varies by several factors, including the number of treatments, the dose of the radiation and a person’s overall health and age. Croll noted also that radiation therapy continues to evolve and improve.
“Luckily, as the technologies we use for radiation treatments are getting more and more advanced, fewer and fewer people are having to deal with those long-term side effects,” Croll said.
Throughout the years, Doherty has candidly documented her journey with the illness.
The 52-year-old actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and underwent treatment for around two years before announcing her remission in 2017.
Doherty publicly disclosed in 2020 that she received a second diagnosis of breast cancer, this time at stage 4. The cancer spread to her brain and bones in 2023.
Shannen Doherty Was Worried That Radiation Might ‘Zap Something’ and Change Her Personality (yahoo.com)
Shannen Doherty says her new cancer treatment is a ‘miracle’ as she updates on her health
Shannen Doherty says ‘miracle’ cancer infusion has given her new hope – Search Videos
Scientists Are About to Break the Blood-Brain Barrier—and Maybe Transform Medicine
What type infusion attacks the blood brain barrier to kill brain cancer – Search (bing.com)
11 celebrities who beat breast cancer – Breast Stories Blog UK (breast-surgeon.co.uk)
What is Shannon Dougherty new infusion treatment – Search (bing.com)
10 celebrities that neat breast cancer – Search (bing.com)