Actress Shannen Doherty says breast cancer 'made me a better human'
The former Beverly Hills, 90210 star says cancer "exposes who's not really truly there for you".
Sunday 6 November 2016 10:40, UK
Actress Shannen Doherty says being diagnosed with breast cancer made her a "better human being" and "exposed" those who were not true friends.
Doherty, 45, has documented her battle with the disease on social media and shared images of herself shaving her head.
The former Beverly Hills, 90210 star was honoured with the American Cancer Society's Courage Award in Los Angeles on Saturday and revealed she was about to undergo radiotherapy after completing chemotherapy.
She said: "I'm feeling ridiculously lucky and very blessed. Cancer has changed my life for the better.
"It's made me a better human being. It stripped away all of the walls and the barriers.
"It exposes any lie in your life whatsoever. It exposes who's not really truly there for you and who really is there for you. It's this brilliant thing where you just look around and think, 'Oh my God, this person is amazing, they're showing up for me in a way I never expected.'"
Doherty praised her mother Rosa, husband Kurt Iswarienko and friends such as actress Sarah Michelle Geller and comedienne Chelsea Handler for supporting her through her treatment.
Geller fought back tears as she presented Doherty with the award at the charity's Giants of Science gala at the Four Seasons Hotel.
The former Buffy The Vampire Slayer star said: "She has always been a courageous person but over the last year she has become a one-woman army.
"Fearless yet full of heart, crushing cancer like a slayer - takes one to know one.
"In an age when celebrities are afraid to walk out of the house without make up, Shannen is proudly displaying her shaved head, telling the world if this can happen to me, it can happen to anyone."
Doherty, who also appeared in fantasy drama Charmed, was diagnosed with cancer in March 2015 and went public about it in August that year.
She filed a lawsuit against her former business managers after claiming they had not provided health insurance which caused a delay in her being diagnosed and the case was settled in August this year.
Earlier this year she revealed her cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. In May, the actress underwent a single mastectomy.