A cancer diagnosis is never an easy diagnosis to accept. Just hearing the word “cancer” can bring tears and fear at what’s to come, but many, many people fight cancer and win. 

Shannen Doherty is battling stage 4 breast cancer, and she wants to win. She is fighting hard. Doherty and her oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro, announced the news that Doherty’s cancer had spread during a dinner party. Piro explained that Doherty was undergoing “hormone therapy to block the estrogen fueling her cancer, plus a second targeted drug that is often effective at stabilizing metastatic disease.”

Doherty shared with Elle magazine that everyone at the dinner party got to ask questions, and Piro answered them and announced the devastating news in a matter-of-fact way. Piro shared that treatment has advanced in recent years and many patients live a decade or longer.

Doherty is not giving up hope. She is not ready for it to be the end. Instead, she is focusing on the small things and truly appreciating her life. She said, “I try to treasure all the small moments that most people don’t really see or take for granted,” she said. “The small things are magnified for me. We have this endless well within us, and it’s just about continuing to dig in that well for the strength to face adversity — and so that we can also see all the beauty.”

Doherty says that she still feels healthy and like she has many more years to live. “It’s like anybody with Stage IV faces this sort of thing, where others want to put you out to pasture. I’m not ready for pasture. I’ve got a lot of life in me.”

Some day, Doherty plans to sit down and write letters to the important people in her life like her mom and her husband. She wants to make sure they know how much they mean to her, but she’s not ready to write those letters yet since writing them would feel so final, like it’s the end.

Doherty explained, “I feel like I’m a very, very healthy human being. It’s hard to wrap up your affairs when you feel like you’re going to live another 10 or 15 years.”

Watch the video below for more details about Doherty’s thoughts on her fight with stage 4 breast cancer.

 As a cancer patient, Doherty is considered high-risk for COVID-19. She and her husband have been staying home during the pandemic. They’ve been working on their vegetable garden.

Doherty isn’t done working either. She is developing several projects including a new television show. She doesn’t plan to slow down any time soon.