The Heathers actress’ cancer came back at the end of 2020 and metastasised, meaning the cancer cells have multiplied, replicated and then spread to other parts of her body. Scans in January revealed the cancer has now spread to her brain.
Doherty took to Instagram to share a series of intimate pictures taken throughout her preparation for radiation treatments, where medical professionals will blast her cancer cells with high-powered X-rays to kill them.
The Beverly Hills 90210 alum got candid about her cancer, saying: “This is what cancer can look like”, adding that her extreme claustrophobia made the treatment process even tougher.
In the US, approximately 264,000 cases of breast cancer are diagnosed in women every year and roughly around 2400 in men. Those cancer rates are only increasing.
Incidence rates have increased by 0.5 per cent annually in recent years, which experts believe could be a correlation with the rise in excess body weight in women overall. A decline in fertility rates and increasing ages of women at their first birth may also contribute to the numbers.
Shannen Doherty had her first round of radiation therapy on January 12 and said she's still fearful despite having a "great" medical team. Photo / Instagram
Brain metastases is considered rare among breast cancer patients, affecting only 10 to 15 per cent.
While the medical forecast for patients such as Doherty has gotten better over the past few decades, the expected survival period is still just over two years.
Doherty has had a tough time with cancer. She was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. It had reached stage two or three and lead to cancer in her lymph nodes.
She had a mastectomy and when that didn’t help, she underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatments. In 2017, Doherty revealed that her cancer was in remission.
On Tuesday, the actress announced a CT scan in early January that had discovered brain metastases.
The actress, 52, had a CT scan done on January 5 that revealed cancer cells had spread to her brain. Photo / Instagram
Doherty did not reveal which type of aggressive cancer she was fighting, but the risk of having brain metastases is higher in patients who have particular subtypes, such as Her2-positive or triple-negative breast cancer.
Doherty documented the radiation process in an emotional clip on Instagram, in which she shed a few tears while medical professionals fitted the mask over her face. Doctors also instructed her to bite down to ensure the mask adhered to her mouth and chin.
She revealed: “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 [sic]. But that fear… the turmoil… the timing of it all… this is what cancer can look like.”
