Joshua Nair
Shannen Doherty's doctor has shared how the actress was in the final moments before her death.
Doherty was best known for her time as Brenda Walsh on TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 and its following reboot, her role as Jenny Wilder on Little House on the Prairie and Pru Halliwell in noughties classic, Charmed.
The actress revealed in 2020 that she had stage four breast cancer, having first been diagnosed with it in 2015 and going into remission from 2017 to 2019.
She sadly passed away aged 53 on Saturday 13 July.
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Just one day prior to her passing, Doherty agreed to settle her divorce with ex-husband Kurt Iswarienko following a legal battle, which included discussions of spousal support.
However, it was reported that court documents showed that she signed a filing to waive spousal support the day before her death, putting the end to the legal tussle once and for all.
It turns out that this was just one part of Doherty's peaceful transition from life to death, as oncologist Dr. Lawrence D. Piro revealed that Doherty's final moments were 'sad' and 'beautiful', in an interview with People.
He explained that the actress' final hours saw her in a 'place where she was very comfortable', as she was 'transitioning' while being surrounded by some close friends.
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Dr. Piro explained: “The room was surrounded by a select group of friends that were giving her a lot of care and support. It was somber and sad, but beautiful and loving,” he explained.
“The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life,” he added.
The oncologist went on to speak about her fight against cancer, and he highlighted that they 'kept going until we couldn’t go any more'.
He explained that in the last conversation the pair had, she was realising that things had gotten a lot more serious.
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“The conversation was about love and support and caring and still fighting through. She wanted to continue to take treatment and fight through, even though her physical condition had taken a bit of a downturn. And so we did,” the medical professional revealed.
The Charmed actress only had a 'limited' number of options at the time, but Dr. Piro said that giving up was never on the table for her.
He explained: “That wasn’t even open for discussion, because that’s not how Shannen lived. She was an incredible warrior in everything she did.”
A representative of Doherty's family announced her death over the weekend, saying: "It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress, Shannen Doherty.
"On Saturday, July 13th she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease. The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie.
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"The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."