Shannen Doherty Reveals Brain Surgery After Husband Found Cheating

As Shannen Doherty told her listeners, it was earlier this year that she was told by medical professionals that her stage 4 breast cancer had tragically spread to her brain. Hoping to get the actress into the surgery center as soon as possible, the doctors acted quickly, telling her that they’d need to perform brain surgery to remove one of the tumors to better understand what they were dealing with. As anyone would after hearing such soul-crushing news, Doherty was beyond nervous (the word she used was “petrified”) as she understood that there was a chance that she’d lose her speech function, ability to walk, or even her life from such a procedure.

Everything got that much worse for Shannen Doherty as, the morning she was preparing to go in for the biggest event of her life, she uncovered that her beloved husband had been “carrying on an affair for two years.”

Making a snap decision, Doherty chose that she’d rather not have him there, despite being terrified of the day that awaited her. “I felt so betrayed,” the Charmed actress said, adding that it was also a moment during which she “felt so incredibly unloved by someone I was with for 14 years.”

Thankfully, Shannen Doherty would come out on the other side of the brain surgery, relatively unscathed – not losing any of her major functions and giving the medical team the bit of tumor needed to better understand what they were up against. The Heathers star has long been an outspoken advocate for breast cancer research, having battled the disease for years, and, unfortunately, the treatment for her brain cancer caused her to lose her hair “all over again.” But, still, the procedure was an overall success and has allowed her to take proactive movement against the spread of the disease.

Still, this past year has undoubtedly been one of the most devastating and lonely ones of Shannen Doherty’s life. Not only did she find out that the brain cancer was developing and that she’d need to go under the knife and seek treatment afterward, but her marriage to Iswarienko was in shambles. Seeing no other way out, Doherty made moves to file for divorce, which she did back in April of this year.

Throughout her lengthy career, Shannen Doherty has always been depicted as a strong-willed, brave, and confident human being, and that couldn’t have been more put to the test than over the last year. In November 2023, the actress revealed that the cancer had spread to her bones, giving her yet another uphill battle to face. Still, Doherty is willing to share every piece of her life with her fans and listeners weekly on her new podcast, Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.