Every day for breast cancer - Shannen Doherty's unique podcast: She left her heavy legacy behind, sick.
What does it feel like to live with death looking at you? Since 2023, actress Shannen Doherty has shared her experiences with her fans through her podcast "Let's Be Clear." In 2015, she publicly announced her breast cancer diagnosis. Since 2020, it has been known that the cancer is incurable. Now, Doherty is dead at the age of only 53.
For years, the American actress continued treatments despite the poor prognosis, keeping her fans informed of many details. She spoke with her surgeon about her surgeries or shared that she was selling her possessions, houses, and garages to make things easier for her mother in case of her death.
Unlike harmless banter or incense burning in old-time podcasts from famous stars, Doherty rarely engaged in such activities. Instead, she left a self-determined legacy through honest conversations about her health condition and pivotal and controversial moments in her career. Sometimes she sat alone in front of the microphone, often she invited guests: former colleagues and co-stars, friends, even an ex-husband. Doherty took her podcast motto "Let's Be Clear" seriously.
Shannen Doherty had a new project announced
Ironically, she announced in her last podcast episode that she would be joining a more superficial chatter project as a co-host: She joined the "Charmed – Magical Witches" podcast "House of Halliwell" as a co-moderator. Her "Charmed" co-star Holly Marie Combs joked as a guest on Doherty's podcast: "My husband said right away: When Shannen is there, it will be a success!" Because Doherty had something that attracted viewers and viewers alike: Good and bad. For a long time, she was known as one of the most hated TV stars. It didn't matter that she didn't need much as a successful young woman in the 90s. In fact, it was rare for series stars to have two major hit shows in their careers, as Doherty did with "Beverly Hills, 90210" and "Charmed." Even rarer was that she was fired from both – despite her success factors.
Doherty also spoke about this in her podcast with radical honesty, which not everyone appreciated. When it came to her departure from "Charmed," she felt it was important to clarify that it was not voluntary, as she had claimed at the time. "Nobody in their right mind would leave a hit show that is well-paid and fun to work on," Doherty said in a December 2023 episode. Her co-star Alyssa Milano had made her leave, she revealed together with Holly Marie Combs on the podcast.
Shannen Doherty was known for her honesty
When Milano tried to contradict her, Doherty made it clear at an event: "At this point in my life, with my health prospects – it's sad that I'm starting to cry – with the daily fight against a terrible disease, it's incredibly important to me that the truth is told, not a story that others tell for me." Perhaps it was the courage of someone who had nothing left to lose that made her speak so clearly. But Doherty was famous and infamous for finding clear words even before her illness. For some topics, she apologized; for others, she didn't – "Let's Be Clear" was the stage for both.
Two weeks ago, when they spoke with actress Katherine Heigl in their podcast – Heigl often wore the label "difficult" herself – they paid her respect once again for her courage: "You were the original," Heigl said, when the topic was how difficult it is for a young woman to stand up for herself in her professional life. Shannon Doherty, however, has done exactly that throughout her career. And perhaps never as consistently and notably as in her podcast. It should be her unique farewell project.
Source: "Let's be Clear"–Podcast," Hollywood Reporter"
Shannen Doherty, in her final podcast episode, revealed that she would be joining the "Charmed – Magical Witches" podcast "House of Halliwell" as a co-moderator, showcasing her resilience even in the face of her battling breast cancer. Despite her diagnosis and the poor prognosis, she had decided to leave a legacy through her podcast, "Let's Be Clear," sharing candid conversations about her health condition and her experiences in her career.
Inheriting Doherty's characteristic honesty, actress Katherine Heigl acknowledged her courage during a recent podcast episode. Heigl stated, "You were the original," recognizing Doherty's consistent and notable stance of standing up for herself throughout her career, particularly in her podcast.
[Shannen Doherty, Katherine Heigl, Breast cancer, Podcast, Podcast episode, Legacy, Honesty, "Charmed – Magical Witches", "Let's Be Clear"]
