‘She Wasn’t Ready to Leave’

Shannen Doherty’s doctor and friend Dr. Lawrence Piro is opening up to People magazine about her love for life and final hours.

Doherty died Saturday following a years-long battle with cancer.

Piro spoke of her optimism, saying, “She wanted to live every day, not as if it were her last day, but as if it were the beginning of a whole another chapter for her.”

He explained, “We kept going until we couldn’t go any more. The last conversation that we had, she was in the process of realizing that things had taken a pretty significant turn. The conversation was about love and support and caring and still fighting through. She wanted to continue to take treatment and fight through, even though her physical condition had taken a bit of a downturn. And so, we did.”

Piro said that over the past couple of weeks “things turned much more difficult” and “it became clear that it was heading in a different direction.”

In her final hours, Piro was with Shannen as well as her loved ones and dog Bowie.

“In the last few hours, she was in a place where she was very comfortable and sleeping and transitioning, and she was surrounded by some of her very close friends,” he said. “The room was surrounded by a select group of friends that were giving her a lot of care and support. It was somber and sad, but beautiful and loving. The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life.”

He said of her legacy, “This tremendous love for life was inspired by a love for people and a love for being treated well. And I think that that grew out of being in the public eye from a very young age and feeling misunderstood most of her life. She would want us to live our lives as strongly as we can, committed to our convictions and to not allow others to label you or to misrepresent you and stop you from living your best life.”

Shannen’s mom Rosa Doherty also spoke out to People, and paid tribute to her daughter for the first time with an exclusive statement.

“She is my beautiful girl and my heart,” Rosa said. “Our family wants to thank everyone who has shown love and support for our Shannen throughout her life. We are truly appreciative.”