Shannen Doherty Shares Footage From Before Her 'Overwhelming' Brain Surgery
Shannen Doherty gave a vulnerable look at her health struggles.
The actress shared a video on Instagram, showing the behind-the-scenes of preparing for surgery to remove a tumor in her head, caused by her metastatic breast cancer. In the clip, she's in good spirits, laughing while being asked if she feels any weakness in her legs, confirming she felt "perfectly fine." The Beverly Hills, 90210 alum also asked about surgical stickers put on her forehead, which are the "GPS navigation" for mapping out the surgical area.
She wrote in the caption, "January 16, 2023. Surgery. I had a tumor in my head they wanted to remove and also biopsy. I am clearly trying to be brave but I am petrified. The fear was overwhelming to me. Scared of all possible bad outcomes, worried about leaving my mom and how that would impact her. Worried that I would come out of surgery not me anymore. This is what cancer can look like."
Watch the video on Doherty's Instagram account here.
Fans praised her for being so candid in showing her medical journey, noting that this will help others who are going through similar health experiences.
"There will be people seeing this who are going through their own journey or know somebody who is. Those people will feel less alone, because of you. It's those, 'scared' moments that make us what we are. Human," read one comment.
A fan with the same type of cancer as Doherty also wrote, "I live with metastatic breast cancer too and it is not easy. Thank you for sharing your experience with all of us and highlighting the reality of cancer. I hope your treatments continue going well for a long time."
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. After going into remission, her cancer returned in 2017. She's been sharing updates on her cancer diagnosis on social media throughout her battle.
Next: Shannen Doherty Shares Emotional Health Update Amid Cancer Treatment