Shannen Doherty faces new battle with cancer, but she has never given up the fight despite disease taking away hope of motherhood
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Shannen Doherty’s life has been full of ups and downs. She has faced numerous issues over the years, both personally as well as professionally. At present, the 52-year-old is struggling with two very important things — her health and her marriage.
Recently, she took to her Instagram page to announce her breast cancer battle, which has gotten worse as it has now gotten into her brain. She wrote alongside a clip, “January 12, 2023. On January 5th, my ct scan showed Mets in my brain. My fear is obvious. I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life. I am fortunate as I have great doctors like Dr Amin Mirahdi and the amazing techs at cedar sinai. But that fear…. The turmoil….. the timing of it all…. This is what cancer can look like.”
This heartbreaking update came weeks after reports said Doherty is getting a divorce from her third husband, Kurt Iswarienko. Her rep reportedly said, “Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted. Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option. You can contact Kurt’s agent, Collier Grimm at PICTUREKID, as she is intimately involved.”
The ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ actress walked down the aisle with the photographer in 2011 after two failed marriages with Ashley Hamilton and Rick Salomon respectively. However, despite these marriages, she did not have a single child.
The reason behind Shannen Doherty not having a child
Doherty first found out about her breast cancer in 2015. Since then, she had gone through chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, which affected her other physical aspects as well. In 2019, during an interview with Health, she said, “The hormones I went on threw my body into menopause instantly. My metabolism came to a screeching halt, and I put on a ton of weight. Chemo also put on weight for me.”
The star explained, “Plus, the chemo and radiation drain collagen right out of your skin, so you age really quickly. For me, the hardest part is the scars. Every time I get out of the shower, I look, and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I’m Frankenstein.’”
‘I’m supposed to mother in a different way’
She stated, “It’s not possible [for me to get pregnant] because I can’t get out of menopause. That would require estrogen, and I’m choosing not to take hormone pills — I can’t risk those levels coming up.” At the time, Doherty also mentioned, “We’re [she and Iswarienko] having conversations about an egg donor, maybe adoption. But there’s fear there. Am I going to last five years? Ten years? I certainly wouldn’t want my 10-year-old burying a mother. I’ve always wanted a kid. But maybe I’m supposed to mother in a different way.”
However, the hardships did not make Doherty weak as she added, “I felt more feminine and vulnerable than I’ve felt in my entire life. I was always used to being the strong one, and during that time period, every wall I’d built up in my life came down. I also had a lot more time to look at myself and say, ‘I’m a pretty OK person’ and cut myself some slack. I’ve had a lot of those epiphanies. It’s OK to stumble.”