Highlights
- Shannen Doherty has become a vocal advocate for cancer patients since her own heartbreaking breast cancer diagnosis.
- Despite her illness, Doherty continues to act.
- Doherty’s cancer diagnosis has affected her schedule.
Two things have defined Shannen Doherty’s life: her time on Beverly Hills, 90210 as smart, feisty teenager Brenda Walsh and her struggle with cancer. Doherty’s days on the hit TV drama included plenty of drama, including a an epic argument between Doherty and co-star Jennie Garth. Now that it has been decades since she played that iconic character, Doherty has talked a lot about her unfortunate and tragic cancer diagnosis.
It’s always terrifying for someone to find out that they have cancer and it can alter someone’s path in any number of ways. For example, Val Kilmer’s vocal chords were ruined by his treatments, but Tarek El Moussa saw positive changes after having cancer. In Shannen Doherty’s case, her life has been very different since she found out that she has breast cancer.
How Did Shannen Doherty’s Cancer Diagnosis Affect Her Life And Career?
Ever since Shannen Doherty received a heartbreaking breast cancer diagnosis almost a decade ago, she has become an outspoken advocate for those suffering from the disease. She has also acted fairly often, which is inspiring to see. The star has been clear about not wanting to let her health stand in the way of her happiness and her career.
In 2021, Doherty talked about acting and cancer in an interview with Variety. She shared her perspective:
“The best example that I can continue to set for other people with cancer, and to the outside world who doesn’t have cancer is to show them what a cancer patient looks like. We are employable. So for me, I’m just trying to live the best I can, to be the best example at this moment.”
But when an actor has to receive treatment for a long time, their career inevitably changes in some way. They have to take time out of their schedule to go to endless doctors’ visits and to spend time at the hospital.
Beverly Hills 90210 Star Shannen Doherty Was Forced To Leave The Hit Show For A Different Reason Than Fans Think
While fans have heard that Shannen Doherty was fired from Beverly Hills 90210 for bad behavior, why was she actually asked to quit the teen drama?
Shannen Doherty’s Struggle With Cancer (According to Deadline):
- 2017: in remission
- 2020: shared she had Stage 4 cancer
- June 2023: shared that she had cancer in her brain
While Shannen Doherty made a name for herself in Hollywood thanks to her many TV roles, she hasn’t played a main character on a TV series in a few decades. In the past few years, she has appeared in TV movies and in other films. Since people have such nostalgia over watching her on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed, she is always a welcome familiar face whenever she is onscreen. While her cancer diagnosis didn’t force her to stop acting, it can’t be easy to balance cancer treatment with a packed acting schedule.
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Shannen Doherty’s Famous TV Roles When She Was Younger |
Year The TV Series Aired |
|---|---|
|
Kris Witherspoon in Our House |
1986-1988 |
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Jenny Wilder in Little House on The Prairie |
1982-1983 |
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Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 |
1990-1994 |
|
Prue Halliwell in Charmed |
1998-2001 |
As of the end of 2023, Shannen Doherty got some terrible and scary news: she now has cancer in her bones. As she told People, she feels that she has a lot more to do and she doesn’t want her illness to be fatal.
Tori Spelling Still Feels Guilty Over Shannen Doherty’s Controversial Firing On 90210
Tori Spelling played a massive part in getting Shannen Doherty fired from 90210, and she regrets it to date.
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 says. I’m just not — I’m not done.”
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Shannen Doherty’s Recent Roles |
Year |
|---|---|
|
Diana Carroll in List of a Lifetime |
2021 |
|
Brenda Walsh in BH90210 |
2019 |
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Katherine in Dying to Belong |
2021 |
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Police Chief Pam Connelly in Hot Seat |
2022 |
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Brigadier General Barbara Dobbs in Fortress |
2021 |
As People reported, Doherty has started a podcast on iHeart Radio called Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty. She will talk about numerous topics that her fans will be interested in, like her romantic life, her cancer, and her acting jobs. Many people who survive a horrible illness or who go through cancer treatment often talk about having a new lease on life and appreciating things more, and it sounds like that is what Doherty has experienced.
The star seems determined not to allow cancer to slow down her career, which is inspiring to watch. As her IMDb page states, Doherty is starring in three upcoming movies: How to Make a Deal with the Devil, Darkness of Man, and Twilight of the Mallrats.
Shannen Doherty Learned She Had Breast Cancer In 2015
Since Shannen Doherty began speaking publicly about her health in 2015, she has been willing to share the ups and downs of what having cancer has been like. Every time she has a sad and difficult health update, she lets the public know what is going on. But it turns out that when people found out that she had breast cancer, she wasn’t necessarily ready to share publicly.
According to People, when Doherty began talking about having breast cancer in 2015, it was because she sued her manager. Since her manager hadn’t kept up with the premium payments on her insurance, that affected her healthcare access.
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Ed Sheeran channeled his grief and sadness into his songs.
The actress told People:
“Yes, I have breast cancer, and I am currently undergoing treatment. I am continuing to eat right, exercise and stay very positive about my life. I am thankful to my family, friends and doctors for their support and, of course, my fans who have stood by me.”
As ABC News reported on Doherty’s lawsuit against her ex-manager, Doherty didn’t see her doctor in 2014, and she said that was a critical time in her health journey. If she had been to the doctor, she believes that she would have received treatment for her breast cancer sooner, which would have benefited her. The publication quoted the lawsuit which said, “had she been insured and able to visit her doctor, the cancer could potentially have been stopped, thus obviating the need for the future treatment (mastectomy and chemotherapy) that [she] will likely have to suffer through now.”
Unfortunately, after Doherty gave a health insurance invoice to the company that her ex-manager Tanner Mainstain worked for, it wasn’t paid. That meant that when she saw her doctor in March 2015, that was the first time she had health coverage in a while since she had to wait for coverage under SAG.
Source: NewsFinale
