Shannen Doherty Finishes Chemotherapy For Breast Cancer, Looks Ahead To The Future

Shannen Doherty has completed her chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer, according to an Instagram posted on Thursday. Shannen thanked her oncology team for their support in the touching post.

According to ABC News, Shannen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Doherty’s private plight became public after the actress filed a lawsuit against her former business management team stating that their lack of payment for her health insurance resulted in a delayed diagnosis. Shannen contended that she had regularly received well woman checks, including breast cancer screenings, but the lack of payment caused her health insurance to lapse, and by the time doctors discovered her cancer it had already spread. As previously reported by Inquisitr, Doherty reached a settlement with the management team of Tanner, Mainstain, Glynn & Johnson in August. Terms of the settlement weren’t disclosed, but Shannen had initially sued the team for $15 million.

While Doherty is relatively quiet about her private life, her breast cancer fight brought out a very vocal and humble side of the actress. Shannen Doherty’s brave documentation of her cancer battle on social media included the heartbreak of losing her trademark locks and the toll that chemotherapy takes on the human body.

Doherty’s frankness about fighting the disease won her accolades and praise from fellow actors like Ashton Kutcher, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and even Alyssa Milano, Shannen’s former Charmed co-star, with whom she had previously locked horns. Doherty has also received the support of fellow cancer fighters who have been vocal about thanking the actress for bringing awareness to the cause.

Last month at the Stand Up To Cancer charity event put on by a star-studded group of celebrities, Shannen’s oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro, alluded to the fact that Doherty was close to completing her chemotherapy. While healthcare privacy policies prevented Dr. Piro from disclosing details, Doherty stood beside him beaming with pride and anticipation regarding crossing that milestone. Now that Shannen is done with the rigors of chemotherapy, however, there is no rest for the weary as she heads into the next step of treatment — radiation.

According to Shannen’s Instagram declaring the end of chemo, she tells fans that radiation is next. Doherty revealed this past summer that, despite undergoing a mastectomy, the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes and therefore her oncology team was recommending both the chemotherapy and the radiation. While Shannen’s new challenge of radiation lies ahead, she has vowed that she will not let her career be a casualty of the cancer.

According to IMDB, Shannen has recently completed several projects and she is set to appear in the upcoming Mallbrats, a follow up to the 90s cult classic Mallrats in which she starred with Jeremy London. According to the Herald Sun, Shannen will be reprising the role of “Rene” and has already read and approved Kevin Smith’s script.

“I’ve read the script and it was fantastic,” Doherty said. “Now we are just waiting on some production stuff and working on everybody’s schedule because it is a lot of people to get together again. As Kevin Smith knows, I will be there the minute he asks me to.”

And fans of Shannen have no doubt that she will follow through with that promise. Despite the woes of facing death in her breast cancer fight, Doherty has continually tried to find moments in which she can remain upbeat about life.

Though there is no release date for Mallbrats, reports indicate that it has transitioned from a movie sequel into a 10-episode series similar to last year’s Wet Hot American Summer. Director, writer, and Doherty co-star Kevin Smith is said to be currently looking for a distributor after announcing its production via social media in June.

Perhaps the delay will give Shannen Doherty the opportunity to finish up radiation and continue the healing process. Regardless, fans and even those who are just celebrating Shannen’s cancer fight will be happy to see her back in her element again. Fingers crossed that Doherty and her fellow Beverly Hills 90210 actors will agree to a class reunion special someday.

[Featured Image by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images.]