Shannen Doherty Reveals She’s Been Letting Go of Possessions Amid Cancer Battle: ‘It’s the Right Thing to Do’
The ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ star admitted that she’s been downsizing while battling Stage 4 breast cancer in the latest episode of her podcast.
Shannen Doherty revealed that she’s been getting rid of some of her material possessions while on her cancer battle in a new episode of her podcast Let’s Be Clear on Monday, April 1. The actress, 52, admitted that she’s been letting go of some things “just in case” she passes away during her cancer battle. She admitted that part of that reason is out of fear that she’ll pass away before her mother.
Shannen explained that her mom is her chief concern during her cancer battle. “I know it’s going to be hard on her if I pass away before her,” she said on the podcast, per Page Six. “Because it’s going to be so hard on her, I want other things to be a lot easier. I don’t want her to have a bunch of stuff to deal with. I don’t want her to have four storage units filled with furniture.”
In addition to helping others, the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum admitted that having antiques sitting in a storage unit didn’t seem worth holding onto. “I’m not enjoying it and others aren’t enjoying it, and do I really need any of it? Do I need to have three dining room tables?” she said, per People. “The answer is no, none of us really need all the stuff that we have, and we could all do with a little bit of downsizing and not become a hoarder, which I was doing with all my furniture.”
Shannen revealed that she’d recently taken a trip to clear out a property she owns in Tennessee. She said that it was a “hard” and “emotional” process. “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,” she said. “I was packing up and I started crying … 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?”
While getting rid of possessions has been difficult for Shannen, she did admit that she’s been enjoying getting to spend time traveling with her mother. “I get to build different memories — I get to build memories with the people I love. I’m not digging into the money that’s in my estate that is going to make sure everybody in my life is taken care of,” she said.
Shannen had first revealed that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. Two years later she was in remission, but in 2020, she announced that it had returned and was Stage 4. She’s given fans updates on her cancer battle along the way. In September 2023, she announced that she still had a lot of fight left in her after receiving a standing ovation at a Beverly Hills, 90210 reunion panel at 90s Con. “I have a fight for my life, that I deal with every day. I think I am really great,” she said.