Shannen Doherty does not mince words.
“I don’t want to die,” she claims as a sliver of Los Angeles sunshine falls across her face on a PEOPLE cover shoot four days before Thanksgiving.
The actress — who is best known for her roles on the hit TV show from the ’90s Beverly Hills, 90210 and later, enchanted — is characteristically candid, optimistic and dry as she talks about her stage 4 breast cancer that has spread to her bones.
As she continues to receive treatment, the 52-year-old is more determined than ever to keep moving forward. “I’m not done with life. I’m not done with love. I’m not done creating. I’m not done with the hope of changing things for the better,” she says, flashing a smile. “I’m just not—I’m not done.”
Doherty’s eight-year journey with cancer has led her to reflect on the big picture of her life, a topic she will explore in her memoir-style podcast, Let’s be clear with Shannen Doherty, premieres Dec. 6 on iHeartRadio, where he plans to discuss everything from career highlights and past relationships to the many stages of his illness and health regimens.
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Shannen Doherty photographed at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, CA on November 20, 2023.
John Russo
Shannen Doherty: ‘Yes, I have breast cancer’
After her initial breast cancer diagnosis in 2015, which she first shared with PEOPLE, Doherty had a mastectomy and underwent chemotherapy and radiation.
In April 2017, she revealed on Instagram that she had gone into remission. But by 2019, the cancer had returned – and the following year she announced her diagnosis of stage 4 metastatic cancer.
“When you ask yourself: ‘Why me? Why did I get cancer?’ and then ‘Why did my cancer come back? Why am I in stage 4?’, it makes you look for a greater purpose in life,” she explains.
He hopes to raise awareness and funds for cancer research — while showing that people with terminal cancer can still contribute a lot to the world. “It’s crazy to me [that] we still don’t have a cure,” she says.
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PEOPLE cover by Shannen Doherty.
John Russo
Shannen Doherty shared a video before removing a tumor from her head: ‘This is what cancer can look like’
In June, Doherty announced on Instagram that the cancer had spread to her brain and that she had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor five months ago. She called him Bob with black humor.
“They had to remove it and dissect it to see its pathology,” she explains. “It was definitely one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through in my entire life.”
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Shannen Doherty was preparing for cancer surgery in January 2023.
Shannen Doherty/Instagram
Shannen Doherty returns to TV after battling cancer: ‘I’m an actor first’
Currently, Doherty hopes to enter clinical trials as new treatments are developed. (An estimated 168,000 people are living with metastatic breast cancer, according to the Susan G. Komen organization.) But what drives her most is the desire to prove that she can work despite a cancer diagnosis. And that deep-rooted sense of discipline helps her keep going.
“People just assume that 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 says. “We are lively and have such different views on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”
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Every morning, the actress is grateful for another day with her friends, family and German shepherd Bowie.
“My greatest memory is yet to come,” she says. “I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that are important to me without asking too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.”
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Shannen Doherty photographed at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, CA on November 20, 2023.
John Russo
As he explains, when you have cancer, everything is more touching and the sky is bluer.
“I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you’re just more aware of everything and you feel so blessed. We are the people who want to work the most, because we are simply grateful for every second, every hour, every day that we are here.”
For more on Shannen Doherty’s cancer journey and how she’s finding moments of joy amid her diagnosis, pick up the latest issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands Friday.
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Source: HIS Education