Shannen Doherty ,45, “Beverly Hills 90210” star known best as bubbly Brenda Walsh has revealed her breast cancer, which she was first diagnosed with in February 2015 has begun to spread into her lymph nodes. Following her single breast mastectomy in May it was discovered that cancer cells had traveled out of the lymph nodes according to new reports.
Shannen Doherty describes her cancer treatment.
“The unknown is always the scariest part,” she shares. “Is the chemo going to work? Is the radiation going to work? You know, am I going to have to go through this again, or am I going to get secondary cancer? Everything else is manageable. Pain is manageable, you know living without a breast is manageable, it’s the worry of your future and how your future is going to affect the people that you love.”
Shannen Doherty also claims that her biggest support system throughout her breast cancer battle has been found with her mother and husband of five years Kurt Iswarienko who helped her through the emotional moments of shaving her head encouraging her the entire way. She describes that heartbreaking moment saying that after her second chemo treatment her hair was beginning to matt up, looking as if she had dreadlocks. She reveals that as she began to attempt to brush out her tangled hair that huge locks began to fall out.
Shaving her head has been tough on Doherty.
She recalls saying to her mom, just grab the scissors and my mom was like, ‘wait, wait, wait.’ I am just like, grab it. She went and grabbed the kitchen scissors, put it in a ponytail and she just chopped it off. “We did it in stages” she recalls. “We did a pixie, then a mohawk, which was my favorite look. And then finally, we had to get the shaver thing and buzz it all off.
Shannen stated that her husband Kurt was unable to be there at that moment because e was in Mexico working, but he was there in spirit and tweeted words of encouragement every step of the way. “After my first treatment, I lost ten pounds instantly. You’re throwing up and the last place you want to be is in a car. You don’t want to be moved, you can’t eat. But my husband has to, you know, pick me up. He puts me into the car, he buckles me in, and he drives me to my oncologist and they hook me up to an IV and I get …hydrated There is nothing going into my body, it’s all going out.”
Doherty admits she is self-conscious about her appearance. Though, above all, she hopes to inspire others fighting their battles with cancer. “It’s easier to live with having cancer if I know I am helping at least one person.” Our thoughts and well wishes continue to go out to Shannen Doherty as continues her courageous battle with cancer.
