Heavy Shannen Doherty is open to having kids.
Season 10 “Dancing With the Stars” alum Shannen Doherty hasn’t given up hope of becoming a mom.
The actress has been diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer with metastasis in her brain and her bones, and while her prognosis is dependent on how her body reacts to treatment, Doherty is still thinking about having a child.
“I have looked at adopting, and all sorts of different options. I think I struggle a lot with with my cancer diagnosis, and how fair it is. I’m in treatment, and I’m gonna see if that treatment works. See what’s coming down the pipeline, what clinical trials, and if I feel like I can give a long enough time to a child, then I’ll definitely do it,” Doherty told ET.
Here’s what you need to know:
Shannen Doherty Wasn’t Able to Have Children Because She Went Into Early Menopause
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 at the age of 44. However, once she started chemotherapy, any hopes for her to conceive a baby went out the window.
“The hormones I went on threw my body into menopause instantly,” she told Health (via Yahoo! Entertainment). “My metabolism came to a screeching halt, and I put on a ton of weight. Chemo also put on weight for me. Plus, the chemo and radiation drain collagen right out of your skin, so you age really quickly. For me, the hardest part is the scars. Every time I get out of the shower, I look, and it’s like, ‘Oh my God, I’m Frankenstein,'” she continued.
“It’s not possible [for me to get pregnant] because I can’t get out of menopause. That would require estrogen, and I’m choosing not to take hormone pills — I can’t risk those levels coming up,” she added.
Doherty said that she considered other options to have a baby, but she wasn’t sure what to do.
“Am I going to last five years? Ten years? I certainly wouldn’t want my 10-year-old burying a mother. I’ve always wanted a kid. But maybe I’m supposed to mother in a different way,” she said.
Shannen Doherty Isn’t Opposed to Finding Love Again
Doherty filed for divorce from her husband, Kurt Iswarienko, in early 2023. On the first episode of her new podcast, “Let’s Be Clear,” Doherty revealed that Iswarienko had been having an affair.
“I went into that surgery early in the morning and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over, that my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years. To not go in that surgery, even though, being very clear, he wanted to go, I couldn’t go into that surgery with him there. I felt so betrayed,” she said on the December 6, 2023, episode.
Doherty, who was also married twice before that, says that she’s open to finding love again, despite her ongoing cancer battle.
“I don’t think I’m going to be single forever. I have to love myself and reckon with the past, really, before I can move forward, and now I’m pretty sure I’ll meet somebody — hopefully soon,” she told People magazine in November 2023.
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