Shannen Doherty's tryst with cancer seems to be a long drawn out one. Here's where she stands currently with her health.
Shannen Doherty, the original Beverly Hills 90210 star girl has contributed greatly to the world of television. While she has been delivering exceptional on-screen performances, things aren’t going too well for Shannen Doherty off-screen. Her health has been an up-and-down struggle, with her battling cancer lately.
Here’s the complete update on Shannen Doherty’s current health situation, her history with cancer, and the status of her acting career.
Shannen’s current health condition
Shannen who was fighting an ongoing battle with breast cancer, recently came out and said that the cancer has spread. Unfortunately, on the 6th of June, the Mallrats star admitted that the cancer has spread to her brain. She revealed this news on her personal Instagram account, thus shocking her followers and fans. She posted clips of her receiving radiation therapy, which were heartbreaking, to say the least. Her video caption said the following, as per Variety:
“On January 5th, my CT scan showed Mets in my brain. Yesterday’s video was showing the process of getting fitted for the mask which you wear during radiation to your brain.”
“January 12, the first round of radiation took place. 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”
Shannen Doherty’s first stint with cancer
As unfortunate as it is, Doherty has been fighting the deadly disease for years now. Shannen’s first cancer diagnosis was in the year 2015, and from then on, it has been an ongoing battle for the star. After that, in 2017, she went into remission. But her joy was short-lived as she learned that by the end of 2019, the cancer was back. Not only did the illness return, but it spread and became metastatic stage 4 cancer, sadly.
Ever since her first diagnosis, Shannen has been open and candid about her health condition with her fans, thus giving everyone a reality check. Being the survivor that she is, has endured rounds of chemo, mastectomy, and radiation. Despite everything, she has her spirits up, which is commendable.
Shannen’s career and future
Shannen has an impressive filmography, with a robust career spanning over 40 years. And over this time, she has managed to get over 80 acting credits, which include big blockbusters such as Charmed, 21 Jump Street, and so on. Her acting portfolio has been nothing short of amazing.
Being the true survivor and warrior she is, Shannen has worked on many projects since her first diagnosis in 2015, especially in films. And she even has two unreleased movies, with the dates to be announced soon. So, it looks like she will continue with her craft as long as she can. But whether she is acting out of choice, or the lack of it is another serious question, since health insurance-related issues come into play.
Shannen’s take on health insurance
Another angle to Shannen’s continuing acting career, despite battling cancer, is the fact that she won’t have access to health insurance unless she has work going on for herself. She revealed in a 2021 interview with Variety about the sticky insurance situation she finds herself in, she said:
“It is something that I worry about, of course, like: ‘Oh, my God, I’ve got to make sure I earn a certain amount of money every single year to get insurance.’ Whereas if you just looked at my 40 years of paying dues, and the pension and all of that the producers pay in on behalf of me, you would think that that would cover my insurance for the rest of my life. And it should.”
