You have probably already read it elsewhere, the actress Shannen Doherty, icon of the 90s/2000s thanks to her emblematic role of Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210 then Prue Halliwell in Charmeddied Sunday, July 14, of breast cancer. She had been battling the disease since 2015. Before Selma Blair documented her battle with multiple sclerosis on social media, before Britney Spears was released from her conservatorship and began speaking out regularly about fame and mental health, before Bella Hadid filmed herself crying in front of millions of Internet users to discuss her depression, there was Shannen Doherty. Shannen Doherty who filmed herself in tears shaving her head and posted a series of unvarnished photos on Instagram. Sure, Angelina Jolie had drawn the world’s attention to breast cancer by announcing that she had undergone a preventative mastectomy in 2013. But it is undoubtedly Shannen Doherty who is credited with immersing herself in the fight against the disease, which many women say helped them feel less alone. A look back at a fight which, through its transparency, has largely helped to publicize a disease which was little talked about ten years ago.
In 2015, Shannen Doherty announced that she had been diagnosed with breast cancer. A few months later, in July 2016, she posted a series of black-and-white photos on Instagram of herself shaving her head. She is seen crying in her mother’s arms, then sporting a punk haircut, before finally revealing herself bald, completely bald, in a photo titled “Step 6.” “Thinking of you and all you are going through as I too go through the same experience. Sending you love and prayers.”comments one Internet user, like thousands of others who also use these photos to share their breast cancer diagnosis.
« It was just about being as honest as possible. And then it became really important to me to be there for people who were going through this. I would never give medical advice because I’m not a doctor, but I would always say : “Defend yourself.” », she would later tell the American media Health.
An inspiration to other women
In August 2016, Doherty enjoyed an interview with Entertainment Tonight to share his gratitude towards “the cancer family”. “You realize how many people in the world are going through the same thing that you are and that you have a much bigger family than you thought. Because the cancer family is a very big family, and they are wonderful and welcoming and so willing to share their own story with you – and also to inspire you and be inspired by you. The amount of love has changed me, it has just made me appreciate people.”
What follows is a series of photos of the actress under IV in the hospital, undergoing an MRI or in the arms of her loved ones, a scarf on her head. But also happier moments of life. The actress posts videos where she sees herself playing tennis or dancing with her friends. “Moving my body got me out of bed and helped me release my toxins. Yes, I wanted to sleep but I went dancing and I feel so much better. Exercising when you are sick is good! We can do it!” she wrote in the caption. “Your dance videos inspired me so much that I contacted your coach, thinking I would be able to dance during my chemo. Unfortunately, the chemo was too intense for me and I couldn’t muster up the energy to do it. Now, 20 weeks after my treatment, I started taking her classes and, my goodness, I feel so alive.”
Throughout her treatment, Doherty also took advantage of social media to regularly thank her oncology team and pay tribute to the caregivers and associations involved in the media coverage and management of breast cancer. Then, in 2017, the long-awaited good news finally came. The actress announced, again on Instagram, that she was in remission. “What does remission mean? I heard that word and I don’t know how to react. Good news? YES. Heartbreaking news. YES. Now all that’s left is to wait. As everyone in my family with cancer knows, the next five years are crucial. Relapses happen all the time. Many of you have shared this same story with me. So it is with a certainly lighter heart that I wait.”
“I hope to encourage people to get mammograms”
Far from resting on her laurels, the actress is taking advantage of this remission to continue to do prevention on her scale. In May 2018, she talked about her reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy undergone two years earlier to the media ET during an event Stand Up to Cancer in California. In February 2019, she spoke about her diagnosis for the magazine Health. “I had a lump, I had a mammogram and then a biopsy. When I got the results, I was in the car with my mom and I knew. The longer I sat there, the more I started to understand. Then I started crying. I called my husband and told him. And from there, I just put together a team.” “Early detection will improve your prognosis,” she also reminds the magazine Extra in December 2019.
Unfortunately, this period of remission would be short-lived. In February 2020, her lawsuit against the insurance company State Farm Insurance prompted her to reveal that she was “dying of terminal stage 4 cancer.” “I probably wouldn’t have revealed it at the time, but an insurance company was going to, so I decided I had to take control of my own story.”she tells the media. In a video interview with ET, she recounts learning her cancer had returned in 2019. On the verge of tears, she recalls: “I started having really strange pains, so I called my oncologist. I think deep down you always know it’s going to happen. But I had definitely convinced myself, in another way, that I had conquered this problem. I was the real warrior. I was the real survivor.”
In October 2021, to mark Pink October, Doherty posted a photo of herself bald with a bloody nose. “Is this all pretty? NO, but it’s true and I hope that sharing this will help us all become more informed and understand what cancer looks like. I hope to encourage people to get mammograms, get regular checkups, overcome fear and face whatever comes their waywrites the actress. I had a lot of nosebleeds from the chemotherapy. I don’t know if any of you have experienced this. I was also extremely tired. I cheered myself up by putting on funny pajamas. Did they really cheer me up? Yes!! I looked ridiculous and in that ridiculousness, I was able to laugh at myself.”
“I hope I have given emotion and a face to cancer”
In June 2023, she announced that her breast cancer had spread to her brain in January of that year. “On January 12, the first round of radiation took place”she explains on Instagram in the caption of a video of herself crying during the treatment. “My fear is obvious.”
A few months later, the star reveals that the cancer has finally reached his bones. “I don’t want to die. I’m not done living. I’m not done loving. I’m not done creating. I’m not done hoping to change things for the better.” she confides to People MagazineBut, far from being discouraged, Doherty immediately launched his podcast. Let’s be clear. The goal? “To cover everything from his TV and film credits to his battle with stage IV cancer, his friendships, his divorces and much more.”
In an episode released in March 2024, the icon spoke about the legacy she would like to leave after her death. “I hope I have given cancer a face and an emotion. And helped as many people as possible (…) Every day is a challenge, because with cancer, things change all the time. Your protocols stop working, you think this protocol is working, and then all of a sudden, your body stops responding. These are difficult moments to overcome (…) But I am happy because I am still here. And I still have people in my life who truly love me and who will go through hell with me and for me, which I have lacked for many years of my life.”
In the latest episode, released on the podcast’s official Instagram account on June 25, she says with a trembling voice: “I thought I was doing okay, so far… I’m going to have to go back to chemo and now I know I won’t be able to do it like before (…) the idea of having to do it all again has completely destroyed me. Yes, I knew I was in stage four, I knew it was serious, yes I did what was necessary to get my affairs in order, but now it’s become incredibly real.” Today, on social networks, thousands of voices are raised to pay tribute to him and ask for “never delete your account”. “His words of wisdom and encouragement will inspire us for generations to come.”
Source: www.topsante.com
