Shannen Doherty “Always Wanted a Kid” but Cancer Shattered Her Hope | She’s Now Fighting New Battles With the Disease

Shannen Doherty is going through one of the most challenging times of her life. Doherty revealed the heartbreaking news that her stage 4 cancer has spread to her brain. Earlier this month, the 52-year-old actress took to Instagram to post a video of herself undergoing radiation therapy, revealing her fear and struggles throughout the process. Doherty now reportedly has brain metastases, a condition in which cancer cells spread from their original site to the brain. 

The Beverly Hills, 90210 star was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, then in 2017 she went into remission. In 2019 she learned that the cancer had returned, spread, and became metastatic stage 4 cancer. Over the years she struggled with the disease and thought she found comfort in her husband of 11 years, to whom she has recently filed for divorce. The timing of things couldn't get worse as the actress is struggling not just in terms of her health but also in her personal life. 

Doherty's split from photographer Kurt Iswarienko after 11 years of marriage has made a turn for the worse. "Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted," Doherty's representative, Leslie Sloane, previously told PEOPLE in a statement. "Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option." Iswarienko's agent was "intimately involved" with their divorce, according to the representative suggesting that another person may have been involved resulting in the split. “Shannen’s been to hell and back dealing with stage IV cancer, and the last thing she expected was for Kurt to betray her while she’s battling cancer,” said a source to RadarOnline. “You don’t get any lower than that.”

The Heathers star was previously married to Ashley Hamilton from 1993 to 1994, and to Rick Salomon from 2002 to 2003. She tied the knot with Iswarienko in October 2011. The couple does not share any children. Motherhood was something Doherty also wanted but her health would not allow it. In 2019, during an interview with Health, she said per Yahoo! Entertainment, “The hormones I went on threw my body into menopause instantly. My metabolism came to a screeching halt, and I put on a ton of weight. Chemo also put on weight for me," she explained.

At the time while she was still married to Iswarienko. She said it was not possible for her to get pregnant "because I can’t get out of menopause. That would require estrogen, and I’m choosing not to take hormone pills — I can’t risk those levels coming up.” At the time, she also mentioned, “We’re [she and Iswarienko] having conversations about an egg donor, maybe adoption. But there’s fear there. Am I going to last five years? Ten years? I certainly wouldn’t want my 10-year-old burying a mother. I’ve always wanted a kid. But maybe I’m supposed to mother in a different way.”

References:

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/shannen-doherty-fear-kids-cancer-dont-want-10-year-old-burying-mother-172931812.html

https://radaronline.com/p/shannen-doherty-refusing-to-give-ex-husband-kurt-a-dime-spousal-support-divorce/

https://www.health.com/condition/breast-cancer/shannen-doherty-breast-cancer

https://people.com/tv/shannen-doherty-files-for-divorce-from-kurt-iswarienko/

Cover Image Source: Getty Images | Kevork Djansezian