Living Life to the Fullest While Living With Cancer
- Actress Shannen Doherty just turned 51 years old, and has been thriving with stage 4 metastatic breast cancer for three years.
- The Beverly Hills, 90210 star has battled the disease with grace and courage since going public with her news in 2020, and thankfully constantly surrounds herself with support.
- Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer, means that your cancer has now 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.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star, who played the “Brenda” to on screen-twin Jason Priestley’s “Brandon,” has turned into an exemplary role model for the cancer community in how she chooses to live her daily life. The Malibu-based star, who has been married to photographer Kurt Iswarienko since 2011, has never given up on herself while battling her disease.
Read MoreBressack had a bouquet of pink flowers in hand as he climbed up to the private plane. Appropriate choice!
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Not to miss her daughter’s big day, Doherty’s mom Rosa was even spotted hanging on the plane in videos posted of the fun-filled adventure, where the crew took in The Beatles Love by Cirque du Soleil at The Mirage hotel.
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Unfortunately, Doherty had to leave one of her other best friends at home, her beloved dog Bowie, who has provided immense support on her health journey, according to Instagram posts.
The Little House on the Prairie star, who was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, announced that her cancer had returned at an advanced stage after going into remission in 2018. She has made it a commitment to live a life with passion, and that's exactly what she is doing by being a voice for animals.
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Understanding Stage 4 Breast Cancer
Stage 4, or metastatic breast cancer, means that your cancer has now 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.
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.
Managing Metastatic Breast Cancer
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.
A Leading Expert Discusses Metastatic Breast Cancer
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.
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