Shannen Doherty’s doctor and close friend says the Charmed and 90210 star “wasn’t ready to walk away” until shortly before her death.
Dr. Lawrence D. Piro, an oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles who has also appeared on television and in films, became a trusted adviser and a confidant who frequently attended her raucous dinner parties during the late actress’s battle with stage 4 breast cancer, she said. peopleHe said he was among her loved ones at her bedside when she died. She died Saturday at age 53. After battling cancer for almost 10 years.
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“We kept going until the moment we thought we couldn’t do it anymore,” Pirro told the outlet. “The last time we spoke, she was starting to realize that things had changed quite a bit. The conversations were about love and support and compassion and still fighting. She wanted to continue treatment and keep fighting, even though she was feeling a little bit worse, and we did.”
Pirro, who declined to go into specifics as a medical professional because it would violate privacy laws, said Doherty had faced “limited options” because of her condition in recent weeks. Still, she remained an active participant in her own health care and focused on what she could do within those limitations, he said. He called her an “all-around great warrior.”
The actress, who is fighting the disease, went public with her diagnosis in 2015. to be revealed in a lawsuit She filed a lawsuit against her former management company in 2014, alleging that her health insurance had lapsed and she was denied proper treatment. Since then, she has documented diagnoses, remissions and relapses, and last summer The cancer had spread to the brain And in November, Down to her bones.
“During her final hours, she was in a very comfortable place to sleep and transition, surrounded by some of her closest friends and her dog, Bowie,” Piro said. “The room was surrounded by select friends who were giving her so much care and support. It was solemn and sad, but also beautiful and loving.”
“The hardest part was, she loved life and she wasn’t ready to leave.”
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Pirro, who has appeared on Doherty’s podcast “Let’s Be Clear,” as well as “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,” “The Doctors” and “This Is Farrah Fawcett,” said Doherty’s “love of life and desire to live more” keeps her going, but that “not being able to do that is incredibly painful for her.”
As Doherty’s fight for survival has intensified in recent weeks, she also Contested divorce proceedings With her ex-husband Kurt Iswarienko, whom she divorced in January 2023 To divide Doherty plans to divorce after 11 years of marriage in April 2023. According to a ruling filed Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court, Doherty signed a divorce settlement the day before her death, waiving spousal support rights for herself and Iswarienko. Iswarienko signed the settlement on the day of her death, according to the ruling.
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Pirro said he didn’t get the impression that the emotional challenges of the divorce were taking away from his wife’s ability to continue the “medical” fight, but he said it made it “more difficult.”
But he hopes the actor leaves a legacy of treating others kindly.
“This great love of life came from a love of people and a love of being cared for,” he said, “and I think it came from being in the public eye from a young age. I felt misunderstood most of my life..”
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This story was originally Los Angeles Times.
