Cancer-stricken Shannen Doherty hoped to ‘squeeze out another three to five years’ before her death at 53

Shannen Doherty has died after a years-long battle with cancer. She was 53.

“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,” Doherty’s longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed via a statement to People on Sunday.

“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,” the statement concluded.

The “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, enduring a mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. She went into remission in 2017, but in February 2020, shared she was battling Stage 4 breast cancer. In November 2023, the cancer had spread to her bones after having previously spread to her brain.

In January 2024, she said she hoped to “squeeze out another three to five years.”

“There’s going to be a lot more options that will give [us] another five years,” she said of time hopefully allowing her to receive T-cell therapy and other future treatments under development. “Then in those five years, there’s a whole other group of options, and eventually there’s going to be a cure.”

At the time, she spoke with oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro on her “Let’s Be Clear” podcast.

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“I always say that it’s important to think of each therapy as a horse, and in a horse race, you want to ride every horse as long as it rides, and then you ride the next horse as much as possible,” Piro said. “You hope you make it a few laps, then there’s altogether another new set of horses to ride, to make the race that much longer.”

The actress said the horse analogy was a “really good one,” and replied: “I’m riding those horses so I get to the fresh set of horses, and I’m trying to get the one I’m on right now to last for as long as humanly possible.”

In November 2023, Doherty sat down with People about her health and said she was “not done with living.”

“I don’t want to die,” she declared at the time. “I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I’m just not — I’m not done.”

“I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra,” she continued. “I know it sounds cheesy and crazy, but you’re just more aware of everything, and you feel so blessed.”

She added: “We’re the people who want to work the most, because we’re just so grateful for every second, every hour, every day we get to be here.”

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“They put you out to pasture at a very early age — ‘You’re done, you’re retired,’ and we’re not,” she said of the misconception of cancer patients. “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”

One month later, Doherty said on her podcast that she was “thankful” and “incredibly grateful” she could celebrate the holidays with her loved ones. In addition to fighting her cancer battle, she filed for divorce from her ex-husband, Kurt Iswarienko, in April after allegations that he cheated on her. She claimed she found out about his infidelity in January before undergoing surgery to remove a tumor from her brain.

Despite the setbacks, she said at the time: “Next year’s going to be beautiful.”

The Memphis, Tennessee native was best known for playing Jenny Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie,” Heather Duke on 1988’s “Heathers,” Brenda Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210” and teaming up with Aaron Spelling again for “Charmed,” in which she starred alongside Alyssa Milano and Holly Marie Combs as Prue Halliwell.

The series premiered in 1998, ending with its eighth season in 2006. Doherty left the show after Season 3. Doherty and Milano, 51, had a contentious relationship over the years, with Doherty and Combs, 50, recently claiming on “Let’s Be Clear” in December 2023 that Milano was behind Doherty’s firing.

Milano reacted to the allegations during a panel at Megacon in February.

“I will just say that I’m sad. I don’t think it’s really that I’m sad for me or for my life or how it does or does not affect my life. I’m the most sad for the fans. I am the most sad that a show that has meant so much to so many people has been tarnished by a toxicity that is still to this day almost a quarter of a century later still happening,” she said at the time.

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“When I think back to that time it was hard for me, and I have worked super hard in my life in the last 25 years to heal all of my trauma,” she continued. “And that’s not just all the trauma that I experienced while shooting but all of my trauma. I’ve worked really hard to heal the bits because I understand that hurt people hurt people and my intention is to be a healed person that helps heal people.”

On Sunday, Milano released a statement to the Post about Doherty’s death.

“It’s no secret that Shannen and I had a complicated relationship, but at its core was someone I deeply respected and was in awe of,” Milano said. “She was a talented actress, beloved by many and the world is less without her. My condolences to all who loved her.”

Some of Doherty’s former co-stars previously praised the late star for her resilience amid her cancer battle. “90210” star Brian Austin Green called her an “incredibly strong human being” in an exclusive interview with the Post in September 2023.

“Shannen and I have known each other for a long time. We knew each other well before ‘90210’ started,” Green, 50, said at the time. “She’s strong-willed. She is opinionated in what I think is the best possible way you can be. She’s inspirational.”

“She’s a fighter. And so if anybody were to go through what it is she’s going through, I would absolutely pick her to head the team if that’s what this was,” he continued. “She’s an amazing human being. I’ve had such an amazing, long friendship with her. I love her to death. She’s fantastic.”

Jason Priestley, for his part, opened up about Doherty’s “difficult” health battle to the Post in January. “She’s being very proactive and it’s a difficult situation but I think that Shannen is managing it in a positive way,” he said. “She’s using her [podcast] platform to try to help people and it’s a very admirable quality.”

On Sunday, Priestley, 54, paid tribute to his onscreen sister via Instagram following her passing. “Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen. She was a force of nature and I will miss her,” he wrote. “Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.”

“Beverly Hills, 90210” also starred Tori Spelling, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering and Gabrielle Carteris. The late Luke Perry died in 2019 after suffering a massive ischemic stroke. He was 52.

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