After her tragic death on Saturday, July 13, Shannen Doherty’s doctor revealed some information on her final moments.

Dr. Lawrence D. Piro was her trusted advisor and friend. He was with the 90210 star through her breast cancer journey that ultimately led to her passing away at the age of 53. The doctor revealed some information to PEOPLE on what she went through as she succumbed to her illness and their friendship.

Shannen Doherty’s friendship with her doctor

Regarding their friendship, he revealed that they “both immediately got each other.”

“Sometimes that just happens,” he added. “The vibe is right, and you understand each other, and you understand what the thoughts mean as if you had known each other for years before that meeting. That’s what it was like for us when we first met, and it was that way all the way until the very last.”

The doctor tells of how involved she was in the treatment and wanting to do what was best when it came to breast cancer.

“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 added. “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.”

Doherty was determined to fight her disease and wasn’t about to let it consume her life.

“In her mind, she was not wanting to consider any other alternative than ‘we were beating this and we were engaged in life,” the doctor continued. “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.”

He noted, “The last conversation that we had, she was in the process of realizing that things had taken a pretty significant turn. The conversation was about love and support and caring and still fighting through. She wanted to continue to take treatment and fight though, even though her physical condition had taken a bit of a downturn. And so we did.”

“In the last few hours, she was in a place where she was very comfortable and sleeping and transitioning, and she was surrounded by some of her very close friends,” he revealed. “The room was surrounded by a select group of friends that were giving her a lot of care and support. It was somber and sad, but beautiful and loving. The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life.”

Shannen Doherty was best known for her roles in Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed. After her long-fought journey with cancer, she will be missed as a beloved star in Hollywood.