Shannen Doherty’s dog found her cancer before ‘odd’ ache signalled its return

When Shannen Doherty was given the all clear from breast cancer in 2017, she hoped her nightmare was over.

Despite the cancer having spread to her lymph nodes, gruelling surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy proved to be successful and the 90210 actress went into remission.

It was her beloved dog Bowie who had first detected she was ill, with the German shepherd repeatedly sniffing the area where her tumour was subsequently discovered.

Shannen, 49, told Entertainment Tonight: “When I got back from surgery, [Bowie] again was kind of right in this area.

“Then when I had my first chemo, she would sniff my entire body up and down. And she was always protective before, but she has become this crazy, protective dog. It’s hard to get close to me when she’s around.”

Two years later – just as Shannen was starting to rebuild her life – she began experiencing ‘odd’ pains in her back after exercising.

But it quickly became apparent that the discomfort signalled something more sinister than a sprained muscle.

“It was no longer, ‘I worked out, and I’m a little sore.’ It was like, ‘God, this hurts!’” she told Elle magazine.

Concerned, she called her oncologist who arranged a PET scan in early 2019 – and the results were devastating. The cancer had returned – this time in her spine and stage 4.

“In the back of your head, you are always suspecting this is going to happen but I definitely in another way had convinced myself that I’d beaten it,” she told Good Morning America of her shock and disbelief.

“I was the true warrior, the true survivor. I was a cancer slayer.”

Her photographer husband Kurt Iswarienko was away on location in London when the news came through.

Terrified, Shannen told Elle magazine how she paced the room crying before googling experimental breast cancer trials and taking stock of her life.

And while she had been open about her cancer diagnosis the first time around, sharing updates on social media, this time she kept her illness a secret because she didn’t want to lose out on work.

Soon after, her 90210 co-star Luke Perry died suddenly from a massive stroke, prompting Shannen to agree to join the reboot in tribute to him.

“It was so weird for me, to be diagnosed but then someone who is seemingly healthy to go first. It was really shocking and the least I could do to honour him was do that show,” she said.

Again, she kept her diagnosis a secret, telling only castmate Brian Austin Green about her secret struggles as she worked 16-hour days on set.

Shannen eventually went public days before her illness was disclosed in legal documents amid her legal battle with an insurance company after her home was damaged in the 2018 wildfires. She claimed she was not adequately compensated but the insurer disputed her claims.

At high risk of contracting Covid-19 due to her compromised immune system, she and Kurt have since been enjoying a simple life, growing vegetables and taking long walks with Bowie.

And for now, Shannen said she feels strong and healthy and is working on a number of TV projects.

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