Living With Metastatic Breast Cancer
- Actress Shannen Doherty, 52, is currently battling stage four breast cancer, but she is thriving and working toward making the world a better place, one horse at a time. The animal activist recently revealed on social media that she helped save a blind horse with eye cancer from slaughter.
- Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. It went into remission in 2017 but returned as stage 4 (or metastatic) in 2019. Metastatic cancer means the disease has spread to distant areas of the body, like the bones, liver, lungs, or brain. This year, her continued battle with cancer involved surgery and radiation.
- Metastatic breast cancer also called “stage four” breast cancer means that the cancer has spread, or metastasized, beyond the breasts to other parts of the body. There is technically no cure, but advancements in treatments can dramatically improve outcomes and that is something to be hopeful for.
- Remember, life doesn’t slow down for a cancer diagnosis, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. And living with stage four cancer doesn’t mean you should stop prioritizing your overall wellbeing and continuing to do the things you love.
Doherty has been through a lot health wise as she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after finding a lump in her breast that turned out to be cancerous. In February 2020, her breast cancer returned and spread to other parts of her body. Then, in January 2023, a CT scan showed revealed her cancer had spread to her brain, ultimately leading her to have surgery to remove a tumor in her brain and undergo radiation.
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Believe Ranch and Rescue wrote alongside their heartwarming footage of the horses, which was shared on Doherty’s Instagram story, “Remember the blind horse and her protector? They are now safe!
“Two more lives saved all thanks to the amazing @theshando who funded their rescue fees!!”
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The footage was also posted on Believe Ranch and Rescue’s Instagram page, as well as Doherty’s.
It read: “RESCUE ALERT! A blind 4 year old half linger mare with eye cancer and her beautiful friend & protector an 8 yr old gelding we’re facing a horrible fate…until….When we saw this little blind mare being pushed around and in the slaughter pipeline with her friend we knew we HAD to do something immediately‼️
“It took a village and we made it happen! Cos we all need a good heart warming Thanksgiving story and this is one!”
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The post, showing sweet video clips of the blonde-haired horses, continued, “These two beautiful angels are now safe and getting the medical care attention and love they so need! Their thanksgiving will be one to remember for us and for them thanks to a huge joint rescue effort!! So very grateful to all who made this happen @crawfordrachel & Kayla who got these two beautiful girls safe & to quarantine in Colorado!
RELATED: Shannen Doherty Stands Up For Fallen NYC Horse: ‘Please Stop Participating In This!’
“HUGE heroic shout out to the one and only @theshando who SAVED their lives!! What many of you may not know is the work Shannen does to help save so many lives! Working tirelessly behind the scenes saving so many at risk horses in need!”
A followup post on the rescue’s Instagram story added, “Safe thanks to @theshando for selflessly donating to save and take care of these babies.”
Animals and Healing
It is often said that animals improve our quality of life, and that can especially be true for people battling cancer like Doherty. Though she has always been an advocate, her passion for animals gives her something to focus on and put her heart into each and every day.
What Are the Benefits of Pet Therapy?
We often need to keep going, and there have been studies showing the power of passion of positivity affecting the outcome of your disease. What still brings you joy? It’s important to do things to feed your emotional health just as much as your physical. For Doherty, it usually involves furry friends, but she also enjoys hanging out with other humans.
It’s important to remember that life doesn’t slow down for a cancer diagnosis, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. In fact, our experts say that prioritizing your overall wellbeing and continuing to do the things you love, like how Doherty continues to save animals, can be very beneficial.
Do What You Love — Even if Cancer Gets in the Way of Your Dreams
Dr. Geoffrey Oxnard, a thoracic oncologist, previously shared to SurvivorNet the three things he tells his lung cancer patients about living with the disease:
- Don’t act sick “You can’t mope around,” he said. “Do things, and in doing things, you will stay active.”
- Don’t lose weight “Eat what you need to do to not lose weight,” he said. “I like my patients pleasantly plump.”
- Don’t be a tough guy “When you’ve got lung cancer, you need work with your doctor to keep your medical conditions under control.”
Shannen Doherty’s Cancer Battle
Shannen Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 after she discovered a lump in her breast. For treatments the first time around, she underwent hormone therapy, a single mastectomy (the removal of all breast tissue from one breast), chemotherapy and radiation.
Sometimes Bad Things Happen — Enjoying Life, Even With Cancer
Then in 2017, Doherty was deemed to be in remission, however, the cancer returned just two years later in 2019 as metastatic, or stage four, breast cancer.
This time, the cancer had spread to other parts of her body making it a metastatic, or stage four, cancer diagnosis.
Doherty’s breast cancer has since spread to her brain causing her to undergo surgery to remove a tumor in her brain, but despite her health struggles she hasn’t lost hope and she always makes time for friends and family.
There is technically no cure for metastatic breast cancer, but that doesn’t mean people can’t live good, long lives with this stage of disease, thanks to hormone therapy, chemotherapy, targeted drugs and immunotherapy, as well as a combination of treatments.
Doherty took to Instagram earlier this year to recap how her cancer fight is going. She underwent her first round of radiation to her head on Jan. 12, 2023, followed by brain surgery to remove and biopsy a tumor on Jan. 16, 2023. The surgery she underwent is called a craniotomy.
Several neurosurgeons tell SurvivorNet that the procedure can allow patients with cancer in their brain to live longer, more vibrant lives, and this appears to be the case with Doherty.
Understanding Stage 4 (Metastatic) Breast Cancer
Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer, means that the cancer has spread to distant areas of the body. Even though there is currently no cure for metastatic breast cancer, doctors have many options to treat this stage advanced stage of breast cancer. Shannen Doherty is a prime example as to how people can lead happy lives despite battling disease.
Hormone therapy, chemotherapy and targeted drugs are all options to talk to her doctor about, depending on your individual needs. Sometimes surgery and/or radiation is considered as part of the treatment, but mainly it is important to focus on improving your quality of life.
The treatment plan for metastatic breast cancer patients depends on the specific needs of the woman, whether they need an aggressive chemotherapy or depending on the doctor’s assessment, they may benefit from another medication.
For hormone receptive positive cancer breast cancer patients, doctors try to see how long they can keep patients on oral therapies. Very often, newly diagnosed metastatic hormone receptive-positive breast cancers (where cells have either estrogen (ER) or progesterone (PR) receptors or both) respond best with different hormonal medications, and sometimes for many many years.
Treating Metastatic Breast Cancer
Dr. Erica Mayer, a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, says clinical trials have shown that hormone medicines are more effective when paired with targeted therapies. At some point, chemotherapy will be introduced. And according to Dr. Mayer, it’s delivered at a dose and schedule that’s as well-tolerated as possible.
“We are so lucky in breast cancer that we have so many effective and well-tolerated treatments,” Dr. Mayer tells SurvivorNet. I’m so gratified to see that patients are doing better and living longer today with metastatic breast cancer than they have ever done before.”
Bottom line, there are more and more options becoming available for patients to manage symptoms of advanced stage disease, and it’s best to talk about specific treatment plans and what is best for you with your own doctor.
How to be Resilient in the Face of Adversity
Doherty’s ongoing health journey and recent divorce from her estranged husband of 11 years, Kurt Iswarienko, have both had an impact on strengthening her resilience in the face of adversity. She’s been hit with tough cancer treatments and a divorce this year alone. However, she’s still keeps an optimistic outlook on life.
Resilience is an important trait to have in the face of adversity such as cancer.
WATCH: Resilience: Staying Positive Despite Adversity
SurvivorNet spotlighted this important cancer-fighting trait in the film “Resilience,” now streaming on SurvivorNet. It follows the lives of three athletes who are living with a health challenge yet overcame adversity.
You can build resilience the way you build muscle, through patience and steady exercise of the skill. Here are some lessons taken from Fischer, Runkel, and Soller:
- Be willing to learn. If one way doesn’t work, find a different way. If an obstacle lands in your way, build a path around it, or over it.
- Spend time with people who inspire you.
- Allow yourself to grieve. Don’t push away or dismiss your frustration and sadness. Give yourself grace when your emotions run high.
- Be flexible. Understand there are multiple ways to accomplish a goal. If your original method does not work, find another.
- Lean into your community. Consider using your support group made up of your friends, colleagues, and family.
Remember when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed by a problem, their support can carry you.
It’s important to remember that battling cancer comes with a wife range of emotions. These can range from “anxiety, depression, financial toxicity, social isolation, and PTSD,” SurvivorNet expert and researcher at Moffitt Cancer Center, Dr. Shelly Tworoger, previously explained.
Psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin also spoke SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, sharing some simple tips to help you maintain good mental health and reduce stress amid adversity.
When it comes to dealing with anxiety, Dr. Strongin says it’s important to have a healthy relationship with your anxiety and get to know it rather than fear it, avoid it, or push it away.
She explained, “By learning more about your anxious thoughts and tendencies, one can begin to answer their anxious thoughts even in moments when there aren’t any answers. For cancer patients, the worry thoughts tend to be, ‘Will I survive?’ It’s important to let those thoughts come in and really be able to tolerate them before answering them. This is a very powerful coping skill.”
Dr. Strongin suggests medications to help with anxiety and depression if other approaches are not as effective. She also urges cancer warriors to explore telemedicine.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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