While Shannen Doherty's fight against breast cancer isn't over, the actress is taking significant steps towards recovery.
The 45-year-old Beverly Hills, 90210 and Charmed alum is getting her breast reconstructed after undergoing a single mastectomy this past spring and is also preparing to undergo radiation. She posted on her Instagram page Thursday a video of her visit to Beverly Hills plastic and reconstructive surgeon Dr. Jay Orringer, who is shown dabbing iodine on her chest as she sits on a chair in a clinic.
"Getting my expander expanded by my reconstructive surgeon @jayorringermd and the lovely Ana Marie. I consider myself very lucky and very blessed to have this man as my doctor. The last couple of days have been busy gearing up for radiation. #warrior #fightlikeagirl #cancerslayer," she wrote.
Many patients undergoing a breast reconstruction receive an inflatable tissue expander, an temporary implant that expands the skin and muscle to prepare the area for a permanent breast implant made of saline or silicone to be inserted in the future. Doherty received her expander soon after undergoing her mastectomy.
"Because I'm starting radiation soon, he has to over-expand me—make sort of this placeholder, if you will, larger because radiation shrinks it," she says in the video.
Doherty recently underwent several months of chemotherapy. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and has documented her battle on Instagram.
Amid her treatment, she has largely stayed away from public events, opting to spend time with her husband Kurt Iswarienko, her mother Rosa, and her friends. She was absent from a recent Beverly Hills, 90210 reunion. However, she received sweet tributes from her former co-stars, especially Jennie Garth, who shared a special message online.