Shannen Doherty is scared to have children after battling breast cancer.
The 47-year-old actress was diagnosed with the disease in 2015 and completed treatment two years later and though she and her husband Kurt Iswarienko have been exploring their options about starting a family, the ‘Charmed’ star is worried she won’t stay alive to see her kids grow up.
She told Health magazine: "It’s not possible [for me to get pregnant] because I can’t get out of menopause.
"That would require oestrogen, and I’m choosing not to take hormone pills − I can’t risk those levels coming up. It’s thought that higher oestrogen levels might increase the risk of a cancer reoccurrence.
"We’re having conversations about an egg donor, maybe adoption. But there’s fear there. Am I going to last five years? Ten years? I certainly wouldn’t want my 10-year-old burying a mother. I’ve always wanted a kid. But maybe I’m supposed to mother in a different way."
For the moment, Shannen is just focusing on finding the joy in the "little things" in her life.
She said: "It’s the little things that are making me laugh. The expressions on my dog’s face. My husband playing air guitar as we walk down the street. It’s all those little moments, the ones that make me smile and feel very joyful that I’m still here to enjoy them."
The former ‘Beverly Hills, 90210’ actress admitted there was a point during her cancer battle that she was "done" with fighting but realised she needed to carry on for the sake of her husband.
She said: "They were worried about my organs shutting down because I couldn’t keep anything in.
"One time, I couldn’t lift my head, I couldn’t suck on an ice cube, I was done. And Kurt was crying, saying, ‘Please don’t leave me.’ I looked at him and thought, ‘I can’t do this to him.’
"So I dug deep, gathered everything up, and charged forward again. Kurt and I got through one of the worst things a couple can go through, and we came out stronger."
Shannen Doherty’s motherhood fear
