Holly Marie Combs revealed Shannen Doherty didn’t believe she would pass away soon before losing her battle to breast cancer at 53. “I think she did as much as she could in the time that she had, but we did think we had more time,” a teary-eyed Combs told “House of Halliwell” hosts Brian Krause and Drew Fuller. “That’s the really sad part.
We had big, big plans for this year. She didn’t think she was going anywhere anytime soon.” The late “Charmed” star she died on July 13, 2024, nearly 10 years after she was first diagnosed with cancer.
Doherty announced in 2023 that the disease had spread to her brain and her bones. “It sounds terribly cliché ..
. until it happens to you, you always think you have more time,” Combs, 50, added through sobs. “Life changes on a dime.
” Shortly after the “Beverly Hills, 90210” alum’s death had been announced, the “Pretty Little Liars” actress penned a heartbreaking tribute to her “better half.” “There is a hollow in my chest and I can’t seem to catch my breath. A part of me is missing even though I know exactly what you would say to me right now,” she wrote on Instagram alongside a carousel of images of them together through the years.
“A fierce fighter til the end. My most ardent champion. My loyal protector.
My best friend. You taught me the meaning of family. You were and will be forevermore my sister.
I love you.” Although Doherty felt she’d have “more time,” her longtime doctor and friend, Dr. Lawrence D.
Piro, shared that the actress had been “very comfortable and sleeping and transitioning ” during the “last few hours” of her life. Doherty surrounded herself with a “select group” of loved ones who had provided her with “a lot of care and support” throughout her battle. “It was somber and sad, but beautiful and loving,” the oncologist recalled.
“The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life.” Doherty was first diagnosed in 2015 and entered remission two years later; however, the cancer returned in 2019 — and Piro explained at the time that her condition started “heading in a different direction.” “Things turned much more difficult,” he shared.
“We continued to fight while putting in more support and we just kept loving and hoping and supporting.”.
