Shannen Doherty’s doctor is giving fans some insight into how the late actress was in her final weeks. According to Doherty’s oncologist Dr. Lawrence D. Piro, the actress’s health began to decline in her final days.
“Things turned much more difficult in the last couple of weeks, and that’s when it became clear that it was heading in a different direction,” Dr. Lawrence D. Piro said in an interview with People. “We continued to fight while putting in more support and we just kept loving and hoping and supporting.”
Piro said that she continued to keep a positive mindset and was not thinking that there was another option than her going into remision again and living a fulfiled life.
“In her mind, she was not wanting to consider any other alternative than ‘we were beating this and we were engaged in life,’” Piro says. “We didn’t really talk about what that meant in terms of additional time for her because that just wasn’t how she operated. She wanted to live every day, not as if it were her last day, but as if it were the beginning of a whole another chapter for her.”
Piro was more than just a healthcare professional, and Doherty said that she was very involved in her health journey.
“Whenever she learned some new fact or some new idea in her medical journey, she would immediately call me or forward something to me and we would discuss it and see whether it had any relevance to her scenario and where it would fit into the scheme of things for her,” Piro said on the Jan. 1 episode of Doherty’s podcast, Let’s Be Clear. “I was always amazed with the way in which she could separate her own emotions about being so young and being on such a difficult journey from the fact-finding part. She was so razor focused and level-headed about those things.”
Shannen Doherty’s Doctor Remembers His Late Friend
He remembered his late friend for her talents, especially her impressive cooking skills.
“She was an incredible, incredible chef,” Piro recalled. “It was very strange being in her home with her in a bed and not in the kitchen bringing out pizzas and cooking pasta. She loved cooking. She loved giving parties. She loved entertaining.”
Piro added that Doherty had a “love for life and a desire to have more life. That was incredibly painful for her not to be able to do that.”
The 90210 Beverly Hills star was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Two years later, she was in remission. In 2019, the cancer returned, and a year later, she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Doherty’s longtime publicist, Leslie Sloane, broke the news of her death on Sunday (July 14).
“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty. On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease,” Sloane said.
“The devoted daughter, sister, aunt, and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace,” Sloane added.
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