Shannen DohertyDr. Lawrence D. Piro, an oncologist and close friend of the actress, recalls the final moments of his late actress. In an interview with People, Piro, a physician at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, describes how he stayed by Doherty’s side until She died on July 13 after living with stage 4 breast cancer..
Piro told the outlet that Doherty was “a step above positive” in how she viewed her prognosis.
“In her mind, she didn’t want to consider any other option than, ‘We were beating this disease and moving on with life,’” Piro says. “We didn’t really talk about what that meant for her in terms of extra time, because that wasn’t how she operated. She wanted to live every day, not like it was her last day, but like it was the beginning of a whole new chapter for her.”
THE Charm alum was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. After numerous rounds of chemotherapy, she announced she was in remission in 2017, but revealed in February 2020 that he came back as stage 4 metastatic cancer.
Doherty had previously said she and Piro had “a great relationship, built on mutual respect.”
“He respects that I always come with new questions and takes the time to answer them… The key is finding a doctor who listens to you and appreciates your concerns,” she captioned a September 2016 Instagram post. “Not all cancer patients are the same. Plus, it took me many meetings to find my dream team. Don’t settle for what you have to do.”
In June, Doherty emotionally revealed about her Let’s be clear podcast that she would undergo chemotherapy for her stage 4 breast cancer after the composition of her cancer cells progressed.
“I thought I was fine. I’m going to have to go back to chemotherapy and it’s really hard, the thought of going through it all again has destroyed me,” an emotional Doherty said at the time. “It’s really hard. The thought of going through it all again has destroyed me. Yes, I knew I was stage 4, yes, I knew it was really serious, yes, I took steps to protect my family and clean up a lot of things. But when you have to go to the hospital and they put you under anesthesia and put you in a catheter, it becomes very real in an incredibly different way.”
The last episode of Let’s be clear aired on July 8, almost a week before his death.
“We kept going until we couldn’t go on anymore,” Piro reveals. “When we last talked, she was realizing that things had taken a pretty big turn. The conversation was about love, support, care and fighting. She wanted to keep going to treatment and fighting, even though her physical condition had deteriorated a bit. And that’s what we did.”
“Things got a lot harder in the last few weeks, and that’s when it became clear that things were going to go in a different direction,” Piro says. “We kept fighting while providing more support and continuing to love, hope and support.”
Piro shares that he stayed by Doherty’s side during his final moments, along with some of his loved ones, including his dog Bowie.
“In the last few hours, she was in a place where she felt very comfortable, where she was sleeping and transitioning, and she was surrounded by some of her very close friends,” he recalls. “The room was surrounded by a select group of friends who were giving her a lot of attention and support. It was dark and sad, but beautiful and loving. The hardest part was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life.”
In December 2023, the Beverly Hills, 90210 star spoke to ET on the importance of using her podcast to amplify her fight against cancer and share her own story.
“It’s all about the past, the present, the future, the hopes and dreams. I’m very personal,” she said. “I tell everything: what happened in my three marriages, what happened on Charmwhat happened on 90210. I talk about losing my dad and what that meant to me. It’s extremely personal. I talk about my cancer journey, which is obviously a big part of the podcast.
Among the tribulations she faced, Doherty was told she needed brain surgery after her cancer returned – around the time she learned of her her then-husband Kurt Iswarienko’s alleged affair and subsequently filed for divorce. In June, Doherty asked Iswarienko for spousal support as she revealed that the residues of Charm had dried up.
Yet she was optimistic about her future.
“I loved someone in the past, and even though it didn’t work out, it was still very beautiful, and I learned a lot from that person and I appreciated them,” Doherty explained. “Even though the marriage is over now, there were good times.”
That ever-optimistic nature is part of Doherty’s long-standing legacy of treating others with kindness, Piro says.
“This immense love of life was inspired by the love of people and the love of being treated well,” he says. People“And I think that’s because she was exposed to the public eye from a young age and felt misunderstood for most of her life. She wanted us to live our lives as intensely as possible, being committed to our beliefs and not allowing others to label us or distort us and stop us from living our best lives.”
Since his death, Doherty was commemorated for his career, life and friendship by fans, friends and co-stars including Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jason Priestley, Brian Austin Green, Jennie Garth, Tori Spellingand much more.
The star’s mother, Rosa Dohertypaid tribute to the late actress for the first time in a statement to ET two days after his death.
“She is my beautiful daughter and my heart,” Rosa said. “Our family wants to thank everyone who has shown love and support to our Shannen throughout her life. We are truly grateful.”
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