Actress Shannen Doherty has embarked on a profound introspection of her life and made a conscious decision to reprioritize amidst her ongoing battle with breast cancer.

In the latest episode of her profoundly personal podcast, Let’s Be Clear, the 52-year-old 90210 star expressed her hope for recovery. 

Doherty acknowledged the importance of leaving behind a “cleaner, easier transition” for her loved ones, should the need arise. “I have accumulated so much crap, and it’s sitting in storage… I’m not enjoying it, and others aren’t enjoying it. And do I really need any of it? Do I need to have three dining room tables? The answer is no, none of us really need all the stuff that we have, and we could all do with a little bit of downsizing and not become a hoarder.”

Doherty said that her mother, Rosa, and the memories they will make together remain her top priority. She expressed the desire to alleviate any unnecessary burden from her mother. 

“It’s going to be hard on her if I pass away before her,” she reflected. “Because it’s going to be so hard on her, I want other things to be a lot easier. I don’t want her to have a bunch of stuff to deal with. I don’t want her to have four storage units filled with furniture.”

Doherty’s revelation to declutter aligns with the concept of “Swedish death cleaning,” a practice aimed at minimizing the impact on loved ones by eliminating unnecessary belongings after one’s passing. The actress embarked on this journey after a recent visit to her Tennessee home, where she packed her belongings to transport them to her California residence.

Doherty, who has been courageously battling stage 4 breast cancer since her initial diagnosis in 2015, experienced a period of remission in 2017, but the cancer returned in 2019 and spread to her brain. Surgery and radiation treatment were necessary. 

Last fall, she revealed that the breast cancer had also metastasized to her bones. Despite her challenges, Doherty remains resolute in her determination to fight the diagnosis and embrace the future with optimism.

Leave a comment

Read more about: