Shannen Doherty Undergoing ‘Miracle’ Treatment Amid Cancer Battle

Shannen Doherty shared a positive update in her battle with cancer this week, revealing that a “miracle” indeed happened to her.

Speaking on her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast, she shared that she is undergoing new treatment for her stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis.

“After four treatments, we didn’t really see a difference and everybody wanted me to switch, and I just was like, ‘We’re going to keep going with this and see,’” she stated, adding, “After the sixth, seventh treatment we really saw it breaking down the blood-brain barrier. Do I call that a miracle? Yeah. For me, that happens to be a miracle right now. That I sort of rolled the dice and said, ‘Let’s keep going.'”

The actress was joined on the podcast episode by her radiation oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro who stated, “Breaking down that blood-brain barrier is actually a miracle of that drug, a miracle of maybe God intervening and saying, ‘I’m gonna give her a break.’ Sometimes you’re looking for miracles in all the wrong places, and they’re right in front of your face.”

Per the National Institutes of Health, the blood brain barrier is a selective semi-permeable membrane that serves as a border between the blood and the interstitium of the brain, which allows the regulation of molecule and ion movement between the blood and the brain.

Doherty was originally diagnosed with cancer in 2015. She entered into remission in 2017, however, the cancer returned in 2020. Last year, she announced that it had metastasized to her brain and bones.

Doherty’s update comes about two weeks after she spoke about how she would like her funeral to be. During an episode of her podcast on Jan. 14 in which her best friend and executor of her will, Chris Cortazzo was present, she made it clear that she would not want a lot of people at her funeral and that she would like her remains to be mixed with her dog and her dad. She also said that she does “not want to be buried and not cremated.”

While it appeared like she has made peace with the idea of dying, the former “Beverly Hills 90210” star said earlier in the month that she hopes to be able to live for another three to five years.

Speaking with Piro, she said, “You and I always talk about the fact that we just need to squeeze out another three to five years, and then there’s going to be T-cell therapy or there’s going to be this or there’s going to be that, whatever it is.”

“There’s going to be a lot more options that will give another five years. Then, in those five years, there’s a whole other group of options, and eventually there’s going to be a cure, she added.