Shannen Doherty has been open about her stage 4 cancer journey and recently talked about the worst ending for her illness. In a candid interview, the actress discussed her plans for a memorial service.
Accepting an illness that slowly kills the body is no easy feat. However, Shannen Doherty found the courage in her to come to terms with her stage 4 cancer diagnosis and take the public with her on her journey.
Doherty, who knows the possibilities of her illness, recently revealed that she wants her funeral to be anything but sad. Instead of a place to mourn her death, she wants it to be a coming together to celebrate her life.
Shannen Doherty attends Hollywood Unites For The 5th Biennial Stand Up To Cancer on September 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California | Source: Getty Images
Shannen Doherty at the “BH90210” Press Conference at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on August 08, 2019. | Source: Getty Images
“I don’t want people to be crying or people to want people to privately [be] like thank God that they’re just dead now,” she said. Given the choice, she would want to hold the memorial service in her home and have it something like a party.
She also claimed that she preferred cremation but did not plan where to settle her ashes. “I want to be cremated,” she said, acknowledging the “morbid topic.” “I want to be mixed with my dog, and I want to be mixed with my dad,” she added.
Shannen Doherty at the Farrah Fawcett Foundation’s event honoring Stand Up To Cancer on September 9, 2017 in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images
Shannen Doherty at the Farrah Fawcett Foundation’s Tex-Mex Fiesta on September 6, 2019, in Beverly Hills, California | Source: Getty Images
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She underwent the necessary treatment and procedures, including a mastectomy, to remove the mass. Although she went into remission after two years, the cancer returned in 2019.
The following year, she announced her metastatic stage 4 cancer. She has since been open about her journey and raised awareness and funds for research. Admittedly, she still wants to live and knows she has more to give to this world.
Shannen Doherty on season 3 of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” on September 8, 2021 | Source: Getty Images
Shannen Doherty and Kurt Iswarienko during the Hollywood Unites for the 5th Biennial Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) at Walt Disney Concert Hall on September 9, 2016 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
However, things only got worse for the actress. In June 2023, she revealed that the cancer spread to her brain and later to her bones. Still, she tries to live every day normally and to the best of her abilities. “I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much,” she said.
Previously, Shannen Doherty expressed her belief that the procedures she undertook to become a mom contributed to her cancer. According to the star, IVF may have increased the chances of the illness returning.
