Shannen Doherty Wants An ‘Easier Transition’ Amid Stage 4 Breast Cancer

In a recent episode of her podcast, “Let’s Be Clear,” the “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum opened up about the emotional journey of parting with her belongings to reduce her mother’s burden when she eventually passes away. 

Ever since she got her first cancer diagnosis in 2015, Doherty has been candid about the process, including getting a mastectomy and starting chemotherapy. 

The theme remained the same on Monday’s episode of her podcast, where the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star took listeners on a new phase of her journey — putting her affairs in order ahead of her impending death.

“My priority at the moment is my mom. 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,” she began.

Doherty explained she was doing these things because she does not want Rosa to “have a bunch of stuff to deal with” or even “have four storage units filled with furniture.”

She disclosed that she has initiated the process of selling or donating antiques and other accumulated items, aiming to simplify matters for her mother in case of any unforeseen circumstances regarding her own well-being.

Another part of the journey that the 52-year-old had to deal with was coming to terms with the dream of residing on her Tennessee property and fostering horses not manifesting. On that, she shared:

“So, we were in Tennessee and I was packing up one of the places there, 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.”

After Doherty revealed her plan to create a sanctuary for horses abandoned due to age or injury, she highlighted the troubling questions that plagued her at that moment. In her words:

“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?”

Luckily, a conversation with her mother put her back on track as she recognized that she could pursue alternative avenues to continue her passion for helping horses. 

However, she had another change of heart when she returned to the residence a week later to pack all of her stuff in a U-haul to bring back to California. 

According to the “Little House on the Prairie” star, she had an epiphany during that second visit where she realized her dream was a “stupid idea” due to the extensive renovation costs associated with the property.

Ultimately, she decided, “I can still live my dream of helping horses, I can still live that dream by really participating in rescues that are far more capable of me doing it.”

Doherty’s insight into her journey comes two months after she delved into her final wishes, which encompass planning her funeral and curating the guest list on her podcast.

She started the chat by confessing that she is “horrible at funerals” because she is “the girl who, like, literally sobs.”

With that in mind, the “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” performer divulged that she wanted her funeral to be a vibrant house party with a small guest list of people who genuinely loved her. 

Elaborating on her choice, Doherty told listeners that there are certain people she does not want at her funeral “because their reasons for showing up aren’t necessarily the best reasons, like, they don’t really like me.”

She shared that these people would only attend her funeral “because it’s the politically correct thing to do, and they don’t want to look bad.”

For that reason, she wanted to “take the pressure off them” and have a funeral that is “like a love fest” devoid of people “privately thinking, ‘Thank God that b— is dead now.'”

Later in February, Doherty spoke about the impact of cancer on her libido, asserting that intimacy does not feel “as good” as it used to. Per The Blast, she declared:

“When you’re feeling not great about yourself, that’s going to kill your libido. But then, when it actually impacts your libido, when meds take your libido away, or it makes things not as pleasant, s— doesn’t feel as good.” 

However, as she added, growing older also had a hand in her libido diminishing. The Tennessee native detailed:

“Perimenopause, menopause, just getting older — all of it impacts not just your exterior. It’s also impacting the whole way that your body is reacting and responding, and then you add to that cancer meds, you add to that, chemo, and it just zaps you of everything. It takes away your confidence. It takes away your identity.”

Last month, Doherty publicly shared her admiration of Kate Middleton after the mother of three announced her cancer diagnosis. In a statement published on Instagram, Doherty wrote:

“Being a public figure does not mean the public owns that person. The onslaught of conspiracy theories, ownership, and plain, morbid curiosity forced this person to explain herself before she had come to terms with it and explained it to her children.” 

“And Princess Kate, I admire your strength through the endless onslaught you’ve been under while going through cancer,” she concluded. The post has since accrued nearly 70,000 likes and over 2,000 comments since it went live on March 23.