Shannen Doherty was ‘surrounded by some of her very close friends’ in the ‘last few hours’ before her tragic passing at age 53 from breast cancer.
The actress died on Saturday while with her loved ones, and was ‘in a place where she was comfortable and sleeping and transitioning,’ her friend, oncologist Dr. Lawrence D. Piro told People magazine.
She was given ‘a lot of care and support’ while surrounded by her ‘select group’ of friends and family with her, as well as her beloved dog Bowie.
‘It was somber and sad, but beautiful and loving. The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life,’ Dr. Piro added.Â
Shannen Doherty was ‘surrounded by some of her very close friends’ in the ‘last few hours’ before her tragic passing at age 53 from breast cancer; pictured May 25, 2010
The actress died on Saturday while with her loved ones, and was ‘in a place where she was comfortable and sleeping and transitioning,’ her friend Dr. Lawrence D. Piro told People magazine; seen September 9, 2016
The actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and went into remission in 2017.
The cancer returned in 2019, and she announced it in 2020, revealing that she had stage 4 cancer and that it spread to her brain.
Shannen’s publicist Leslie Sloane announced her death on Sunday via a statement: ‘On Saturday, July 13, 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. The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace.’
Gabrielle Carteris, who played Andrea in the iconic series, also remarked about Luke in her Shannen tribute.
‘I know Luke is there with open arms to love you,’ in her tribute, as reported by People.
Just this past February, Doherty got emotional when she shared about the time she learned of Perry’s death while attending a panel at MegaCon Orlando.
Shannen’s publicist Leslie Sloane announced her death on Sunday via a statement: ‘On Saturday, July 13, she lost her battle with cancer after many years of fighting the disease; seen in a promotional still from Charmed with co-stars Holly Marie Combs and Alyssa Milano
‘It was shocking,’ Doherty said of the loss of her former co-star and friend.
‘I have a very visceral reaction whenever someone brings up Luke because as someone with cancer— and a really horrible cancer at stage 4 — I thought I would be the first to go. So when it was Luke, it really just sent me for a tailspin.’
Heartbroken over his loss, Doherty finally found the strength to share a tribute to Perry on social media the day after he died.
‘Yesterday morning I got a phone call that devastated me,’ she began in the caption with obvious emotion to her words.
‘I’m struggling with this loss and am having a hard time with my thoughts. But, my heart goes out to his family and friends who were blessed by his light in their (and mine) lives. Processing this is impossible right now.’
It turns out she and Perry wanted to create some new onscreen magic together, and were trying to find the right production to work on together.
‘There is a special kind of love one has for each other when you are experiencing the journey we did on 90210 and of course life in general,’ Doherty said, before revealing, ‘Luke and I were working on show ideas for us. We wanted to work with each other again and create something special and meaningful for our fans at this stage in our lives.’
The two actors remained close after playing love interests Brenda Walsh and Dylan McKay for the four seasons they shared together on Beverly Hills, 90210
Luke and Shannen starred on 90210 together – playing love interests Dylan and Brenda
Her post comes just one day after Shannen’s death at age 53 following a nine-year battle with breast cancer; Luke and Shannen picturedÂ
She added, ‘I will miss him everyday. Every minute. Every second.’
During that same interview with People in 2019, the Memphis, Tennessee native revealed that she last saw Luke Perry when ‘they met up for lunch’ only a few weeks before his death.
‘I walked in and there he was, smiling, with his dog Penny and her bed under the booth, happy as can be,’ she recalled. ‘I will never forget — and will miss — Luke looking at me with that smile of his saying … “Shan.”‘
While attending a 90210 panel at RewindCon Chicago, weeks before his death in 2019, Perry heaped high praise on Doherty, telling the audience, ‘None of us are up here today without Shannen.’
He proceeded to share, ‘The reality is that she was a very big part of the success of the program. She taught me a lot and I’m just really glad she was there for me as a scene partner.’
They also connected after her cancer diagnosis and they ‘picked right back up, albeit older and wiser, but that connection remained in tact.’
She described him as a ‘smart, quiet, humble and complex man with a heart of gold and never-ending well of integrity and love.’
Jennie Garth, Shannen’s co-star on 90210, paid tribute to her on Sunday: ‘I am still processing my tremendous grief over the loss of my long time friend Shannen, the woman I have often described as one of the strongest people I have ever known.’
Adding: ‘Our connection was real and honest. We were so often pitted against each other but none of that reflected the truth of our real relationship which was one built on mutual respect and admiration,’ she said.
Fellow 90210 co-star Jason Priestley said: ‘Shocked and saddened to hear about the passing of my friend Shannen. She was a force of nature and I will miss her. Sending love and light to her family in this dark time.’
Brian Austin Green, who also starred in 90210, said: ‘Shan. My sister… You loved me through everything. You were a big part of my understanding of love. I’ll miss you more that I know how to process right now. Thank you for the gift of you.’Â
Jennie Garth, Shannen’s co-star on 90210, paid tribute to her on Sunday: ‘I am still processing my tremendous grief over the loss of my long time friend Shannen, the woman I have often described as one of the strongest people I have ever known;’ seen together on 90210
Doherty and Perry starred together on Beverly Hills, 90210 for the first four seasons of the hit series from 1990-1994; Perry would stay for two more seasons and then leave, only to return for the finale 10th season; they starred with Ian Ziering, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, and Gabrielle Carteris
‘There is a special kind of love one has for each other when you are experiencing the journey we did on 90210 and of course life in general,’ Doherty told People during an interview in 2019, soon after sudden Perry’s deathÂ
Shannen pictured with her 90210 co-star Jason Priestley
Shannen spent her final weeks enduring the ‘hardest time’ she had ever experienced with cancer.
At the end of June, she told her friend Katherine Heigl, 45, she was going through hell with the disease.
She told her fellow star on her ‘Let’s Be Clear’ podcast: ‘I got cancer in 2015, and it went to remission, I think, right at the end of 2017 or at the beginning of 2018, and then it came back in 2019 as stage 4 breast cancer, but then it spread to my bones. And from there, it spread to my brain.’
‘There’s so many protocols. Eventually – it’s stage 4 cancer – eventually those protocols are gonna stop working.
‘And you just hope that you are on one long enough for them to actually come up with another protocol and another protocol… so it’s really hard.
‘This is probably the hardest time for me that I’ve ever had with the cancer. I’ve always kinda felt very positive and, like, I can deal with it, and this is definitely like – I’m overly emotional.’
‘I wanna cry every single second at good or bad (things.)’
Shannen also said living with cancer had altered how she thought about life, adding: ‘What’s really beautiful about it is, I think you become so incredibly sensitive that your eyes are, like, wide open to everything around you, to people, to how they react, to what you can possibly do that’s better for the world, like, what your purpose here is’
‘What’s really beautiful about it is, I think you become so incredibly sensitive that your eyes are, like, wide open to everything around you, to people, to how they react, to what you can possibly do that’s better for the world, like, what your purpose here is,’ she said.
‘Because I think I struggled with that kind of my entire life, being a child actor and then growing up acting, and I just never felt like I was accepted.
‘I always, you know, looked at the ‘Friends’ crew and was like, ‘Oh my god. I wanna hang out with Jen Aniston and Courteney Cox.’
‘And, you know, ‘Why doesn’t anybody accept me, and why am I always called the bad girl?’
‘For me, cancer was that moment where I was like, ‘Oh, hell no.’
‘I don’t need to hang out with any of these people. I need to make sure I’m happy and living the best life that I can while I’m still alive.’