In July 2024, Shannen Doherty passed away at age 53 after a grueling battle with breast cancer. Just weeks before her death, her last words shared on Instagram detailed a “scary” new chapter in her treatment. The Charmed actress was first diagnosed in 2015.
Related: Inside Shannen Doherty’s net worth before her death
Doherty’s publicist, Leslie Sloane, broke the news on June 14, 2024. “It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress, Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” the statement read, per NBC News. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.”
Shannen Doherty’s last public words, revealed
On June 25, 2024, the Beverly Hills: 90210 star shared her final post to Instagram. “So, you know, for the first time in I have no idea how long, I’m going to be on chemo for—I have no idea if it’s going to be three months or if it’s going to be six months or if after three months and if it’s not working, if we’re going to change again,” she said.
“It’s not something my doctors can predict and it’s scary. It’s a big wake-up call at the same time I got to say that there is some positivity there and the positivity is that because my molecular structure of my cancer cells changed recently,” she continued.
“It means that there’s a lot more protocols for me to try. So, you know, for the first time in a couple months probably I feel hopeful because there are so many more protocols now. Whereas before I was hopeful but I was still getting prepared.”
As mentioned, Doherty revealed she had been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, at age 44. According to a lawsuit, she claimed that former business managers and accountants mismanaged her money and allowed her health insurance to lapse last year, leading to a delayed diagnosis and treatment.
The lawsuit contended that “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 (including mastectomy and chemotherapy) that Plaintiff will likely have to suffer through now.”
In 2016, she revealed that the cancer had spread. “I had breast cancer that spread to the lymph nodes, and from one of my surgeries we discovered that some of the cancer cells might have actually gone out of the lymph nodes,” Doherty told ET at the time. “So for that reason, we are doing chemo, and then after chemo, I’ll do radiation.”
Four years later, Doherty revealed her cancer had progressed to stage 4 and in June 2023, she revealed the illness had spread to her brain. “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,” she shared to Instagram at the time.
