Shannen Doherty Says Cancer Has Spread to Her Bones, Shares How She’s Embracing Life

Shannen Doherty‘s eight-year cancer battle has progressed, but she’s not giving up the fight. 

The 52-year-old Beverly Hills 90210 alum reveals to People that her cancer has spread to her bones.

“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,” Doherty tells the magazine. “I’m just not — I’m not done.”

The Charmed actress’ health battle began in 2015 when she revealed her breast cancer diagnosis with the world. In 2017, she announced that she was in remission. Then in 2019, she announced that she had metastatic stage 4 cancer, which means the cancer spread from her breast to another part of her body. In June, Doherty was emotionally candid as she revealed that her cancer had spread to her brain, and she she had to undergo a procedure to remove the tumor. 

“When you ask yourself, ‘Why me? Why did I get cancer?’ and then ‘Why did my cancer come back? Why am I stage 4?,’ that leads you to look for the bigger purpose in life,” she shares. 

Today, the actress hopes to become part of clinical trials, and still can’t believe that there has yet to be a cure for the disease. Still, as she continues to go through treatment, Doherty says that she isn’t letting anything get in the way of her raising awareness or working.

“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 explains. “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.”

Doherty says her health battle has made her extra grateful for life. “My greatest memory is yet to come. I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much,” she shares. “It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.”

Doherty is also giving the world a closer look at all the ups and downs of her life with her new memoir-style podcast, Let’s Be Clear. The iHeartPodcasts show “promises to be a raw and candid exploration of Shannen’s personal journey covering everything from her TV and film credits to her stage four cancer battle, friendships, divorces and more. The podcast will also provide a platform for Shannen to share her life experience, the strength that carried her through difficult times, and her hopes and dreams for the future.”

On the podcast, Doherty hopes to drive home one of her biggest life lessons. “It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, it’s about how you get back up,” she says in a statement. 

Let’s Be Clear debuts on the iHeartPodcasts network on Dec. 7.

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