Actress Shannen Doherty battled breast cancer in 2015, and it later went into remission. On Feb. 4, 2020, Doherty announced that the cancer had returned, but a powerful mantra from an unlikely source is helping keep her head above water.
In a conversation between animated characters Charlie Brown and Snoopy, immortalized in a sweet cartoon shared by Today, Charlie Brown declares, “We only live once, Snoopy.”
“Wrong!” Snoopy retorts. “We only die once. We live every day.” Doherty posted the empowering cartoon to social media.
The actress, 48, has lived with the news of her cancer’s return for an entire year in private. However, Doherty braved the studio cameras to announce her second battle with cancer on ABC News, wishing to remain in control of the details being shared with the public.
“I'd rather people hear it from me,” she said. “I want it to be real and authentic; I want to control the narrative.
“It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,” the actress continued. “There are definitely days where I say, ‘Why me?’ But then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else?’”
During her experience of chemotherapy following 2015’s cancer diagnosis, Doherty shared her journey online, on one occasion posting a heart-wrenching photo of herself holding clumps of fallen hair on Instagram. “I was sick,” she wrote, “felt like I was losing myself.”
“Cancer has so many phases. Shock, denial, acceptance, anger, resentment, rebellion, fear, appreciation, beauty,” Doherty continued, adding that despite the rollercoaster of emotions, “you can still grasp life and live, live, live.”
Speaking to People in 2019, Doherty recalled her recovery process. “I really took good care of myself, and I came out of it in as good of [a] condition I think somebody could be in,” she explained.
“But the funny thing with cancer is that once you’re no longer on chemo or radiation, people think you’re fine,” Doherty added, “that you bounce back. But what they don’t realize is that your body has been through something so incredibly difficult that your body never fully bounces back.”
Doherty has openly stated that she is “petrified” about the health battle ahead but has nonetheless forged ahead with important personal projects. The much-anticipated reboot of the wildly popular 1990s teen drama “Beverly Hills, 90210” was one such project.
The reboot, BH90210, ran for one season on the Fox network and reunited Doherty with her costars Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, Jason Priestley, Ian Ziering, Brian Austin Green, and Gabrielle Carteris.
Luke Perry was notable for his absence. The beloved actor passed away from a stroke at his home in February 2019. “The least I could do to honor him was do that show,” Doherty told ABC News, speaking of the aftermath of losing her close friend and costar.
“When I finally do come out [about the cancer’s return] I will have worked and worked, 16 hours a day,” Doherty continued. “People can look at that and say, ‘Oh my god, yeah, she can work.’”
Doherty assured viewers that she has the love and support of her nearest and dearest as she continues to battle cancer, describing her mother as determined, loyal, and fearless on Instagram. Her rock, besides her mother, is Doherty’s husband of eight years, photographer Kurt Iswarienko.
Doherty has no plans to shelve her ambitions. Wishing to create a powerful legacy, the actress has stated that she wishes to make an impact and be remembered for something extraordinary.
“Our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis,” Doherty told ABC News. “We still have some living to do.”
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