The 'Beverly Hills, 90210' alum first shared her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015
As she continues her cancer battle, Shannen Doherty is learning the importance of letting go.
During Sunday's episode of her podcast "Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty," the "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum opened up about the importance of giving up certain "dreams" and materialistic items in order to provide "an easier transition" for her loved ones as she continues undergoing treatment for stage 4 breast cancer.
"My priority at the moment is my mom," she said. "I know it’s going to be hard on her if I pass away before her. Because it’s going to be so hard on her, I want other things to be a lot easier. I don’t want her to have a bunch of stuff to deal with. I don’t want her to have four storage units filled with furniture."
SHANNEN DOHERTY'S CANCER HAS SPREAD: 'I'M NOT AFRAID OF DYING, I JUST DON'T WANT TO DIE'
Shannen Doherty first revealed her breast cancer diagnosis in 2015. (FOX Image Collection via Getty Image)
After making a trip to her Tennessee home, where she fosters abandoned horses, Doherty said she became "emotional" thinking about all that she was giving up.
"So we were in Tennessee and I was packing up one of the places there," she said. "It was really hard and really emotional because to a certain extent – I felt like I was giving up on this dream of building this property out, and putting a house for me and a house for my mom and then extending the barn."
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"I was packing up and I started crying… I felt like I was giving up on a dream and what did that mean for me? Did it mean that I was giving up on life? Did it mean that I was throwing in the towel? And my mom was there, and she was like, ‘Don’t get rid of this place, it’s fine. You don’t have to and you can keep going.’ I said, ‘Yeah, absolutely I can.'"
Shannen Doherty says her mother's own perseverance after suffering a brain aneurysm has inspired her throughout her own health battles. (Shannen DohertyInstagram)
A week later, the actress came to the conclusion that letting go of the barn was "the right thing to do."
"It feels like you're giving up on something that was very special and important to you," she explained. "But you know that it's the right thing to do and that it's going to give you a sense of peace and a sense of calm. Because you're helping the people that you leave behind just have a cleaner, easier transition."
"I can still live my dream of helping horses," she added. "I can still live that dream by really participating in rescues that are far more capable of me doing it."
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Shannen Doherty felt like she was "giving up on a dream" after downsizing Tennessee property. (Getty Images)
As for selling her materialistic items, Doherty admitted she plans to use the money for life experiences.
"None of us really need all the stuff that we have, and we could all do with a little bit of downsizing and not become a hoarder, which I was doing with all my furniture," she said.
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"It allows me to take more trips because I’m making money, I’m selling it," she added. "Then I get to build different memories and I build memories with the people that I love. I get to take my mom on vacations because I have all this extra play money lying around and I’m not digging into the money that’s in my estate that’s going to make sure that everybody in my life is taken care of once I’m dead."
Shannen Doherty says before she had brain surgery, she was having funeral conversations. (Shannen Doherty Instagram)
Doherty was originally diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, but by 2017, she was in remission. However, her cancer returned in 2020.
Last summer, Doherty revealed that the cancer had metastasized to her brain.
In January, she shared a positive health update on how the treatments had been going.
"After four treatments, we didn't really see a difference and everybody wanted me to switch, and I just was like, 'We're going to keep going with this and see,'" Doherty revealed on her podcast.
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"After the sixth, seventh treatment we really saw it breaking down the blood-brain barrier. Do I call that a miracle? Yeah. For me, that happens to be a miracle right now. That I sort of rolled the dice and said, 'Let's keep going.'"
Christina Dugan Ramirez is a freelance entertainment writer for Fox News Digital.
