Shannen Doherty is ready to talk about sex.
In a candid conversation on her podcast, Let’s Be Clear, the actress best known for her roles on Charmed and Beverly Hills, 90210, delved into the intimate topic of how her battle with cancer has impacted her sex life and self-perception.
Doherty, who filed for divorce from photographer Kurt Iswarienko in April 2023, spoke openly about the challenges she has faced since her initial breast cancer diagnosis in 2015. She revealed how cancer treatments and medications have affected her libido, making intimacy less enjoyable.
“When you’re feeling not great about yourself, that’s going to kill your libido,” Doherty shared with her friend, model Anne Marie Kortright. “But then when it actually impacts your libido, when meds take your libido away, or it makes things not as pleasant, sex doesn’t feel as good.”
Desiring to improve her marital relationship despite the health challenges, Doherty sought solutions, eventually turning to Dr. Sherry Ross, a renowned gynecologist specializing in alternative approaches to women’s health. However, the doctor’s recommendation of sex toys initially caught Doherty off guard.
Describing the visit, Kortright recounted, “She’s got all these little displays of toys… then she goes, ‘Here Shannen, take this,’ and Shannen, like, shoves it in her bag.”
Despite her initial hesitation, Doherty admitted that the sex toys remained unused for some time. Yet, she emphasized the broader impact of cancer and aging on one’s self-esteem and identity.
“Getting older, all of it impacts not just your exterior,” she reflected. “But it’s also impacting the whole way that your body is reacting and responding. And then you add to that cancer meds, you add to that chemo or and it just zaps you of everything and it takes your confidence. It takes away your identity.”
Despite the challenges, Doherty, who revealed her openness to dating again in November, remains resilient. Her journey with cancer, which progressed to stage 4 in 2019, recently showed signs of improvement with her latest treatment regimen.
“After the sixth, seventh treatment, we really saw it breaking down the blood-brain barrier,” she revealed on a recent episode of her podcast. “For me, that happens to be a miracle right now.”
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