Shannen Doherty opens up about how cancer affects her sex drive

Shannen Doherty is willing to talk about sex.

In a candid conversation on her podcast: Let's be clearthe actress best known for her roles in Charmed And Beverly Hills, 90210delved into the intimate subject of how her battle with cancer has affected her sex life and self-perception.

Doherty, who filed for divorce by photographer Kurt Iswarienko in April 2023, spoke openly about the challenges she has faced since her first diagnosis of breast cancer in 2015. She revealed how cancer treatments and medications have affected her libido, making intimacy less enjoyable.

“If you don't feel good about yourself, it will kill your libido,” Doherty shared with her friend, model Anne Marie Kortright. “But if it actually affects your libido, if medication takes away your libido, or if it makes things not as pleasant, sex doesn't feel as good.”

Wanting to improve her marital relationship despite the health problems, Doherty looked for solutions and eventually turned to Dr. Sherry Ross, a renowned gynecologist who specializes in alternative approaches to women's health. However, the doctor's recommendation for sex toys initially caught Doherty off guard.

Describing the visit, Kortright said, “She has all these little displays of toys… and then she says, 'Here Shannen, take this,' and Shannen puts it in her bag.”

Despite her initial hesitation, Doherty admitted that the sex toys had gone unused for some time. Still, she emphasized the broader impact of cancer and aging on a person's self-esteem and identity.

'Getting older doesn't just affect your appearance,' she thought. “But it also affects the whole way that your body reacts and responds. And then you add cancer drugs to that, you add to that chemotherapy or and it just zaps you with everything and it takes away your confidence. It takes you away identity away.”

Despite the challenges, Doherty, who indicated in November that she was open to dating again, remains resilient. Her journey with cancer, which moved to stage 4 in 2019, recently showed signs of improvement with her latest treatment regimen.

“After the sixth, seventh treatment, we really saw the blood-brain barrier breaking down,” she revealed on a recent episode of her podcast. “To me, that's a miracle right now.”