Shannen's New Adventure
- In a post shared to Instagram, actress Shannen Doherty revealed she’s taking her beloved dog on a road trip.
- Doherty is currently fighting metastatic breast cancer; she was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015 and has been through several rounds of treatment.
- Keeping a positive mindset through cancer, and focusing on good times with loved ones and pets, may impact outcomes.
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Doherty’s Cancer Battle
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump in her breast which turned out to be cancerous. Doherty had hormone therapy to fight her cancer, but it was ineffective and the cancer had spread to her lymph nodes.
Related: Getting to Know Your Breasts with Self-Exams
For treatment, Doherty underwent single mastectomy and also had chemotherapy and radiation. After going into remission, she announced in February 2020 that her cancer returned, and this time it had spread to other parts of her body.
Related: When Should I Get a Mammogram?
Surgery is a common treatment path for many people fighting breast cancer. In an earlier interview, Dr. Ann Partridge, an oncologist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute explains the path to surgery. She says, "So when I talk to a woman who comes to me and she has breast cancer, I evaluate what the standard options for treatment for her are, which typically include cutting out the cancer which is either a lumpectomy if you can get it all with just a little scooping around of the area that's abnormal or a mastectomy for some women meaning taking the full breast because sometimes these lesions can be very extensive in the breast."
When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
Focusing on the Good Through Breast Cancer
Doherty, throughout her cancer, celebrates the special moments time with her husband, adventures with friends, and special moments with her dog, Bowie. It’s so inspiring to see, and we know that having a positive attitude through cancer helps, too.
Dr. Zuri Murrell is a colorectal surgeon at Cedars-Sinai and he says that having a positive and upbeat attitude (which can come from the workplace) may help with cancer outcomes. Dr. Murrell says in a previous interview, "My patients who thrive, even with stage 4 cancer, from the time that they, about a month after they're diagnosed, I kind of am pretty good at seeing who is going to be OK."
"Now doesn't that mean I'm good at saying that the cancer won't grow," he says. "But I'm pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life."
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