Holly Marie Combs says Shannen Doherty thought she had ‘more time’ before death

Holly Marie Combs has revealed that Shannen Doherty didn’t think she would die soon before she lost her battle with breast cancer at the age of 53.

“I think she did everything she could in the time she had, but we thought we had more time,” Combs told “House of Halliwell” hosts Brian Krause and Drew Fuller, with tears in his eyes.

“That’s the really sad part. We had really big plans for this year. She didn’t think she was going anywhere anytime soon.”

The late “Charmed” star died on July 13, 2024, nearly 10 years after she was first diagnosed with cancer. Doherty announced in 2023 that the disease had spread to her brain and bones.

“It sounds so cliché… until it happens to you, you always think you have more time,” Combs, 50, added between sobs. “Life changes in an instant.”

Shortly after the “Beverly Hills, 90210” alumna’s death was announced, the “Pretty Little Liars” actress wrote a heartfelt tribute to her “better half.”

“There’s a hole in my chest and I can’t catch my breath. A part of me is missing even though I know exactly what you’re going to say to me right now,” she said. Books on Instagram Along with a collection of photos of them together over the years.

“A fierce fighter until the end. My most passionate champion. My loyal protector. My best friend. You taught me the meaning of family. You were and will always be my sister. I love you.”

Although Doherty felt she would have “more time,” her longtime doctor and friend, Dr. Lawrence Di Piro, shared that the actress was “very comfortable, sleeping and moving around” during the “last few hours” of her life.

Doherty surrounded herself with a “select group” of loved ones who gave her “so much care and support” throughout her battle.

“It was dark and sad, but beautiful and endearing,” the oncologist recalls. “The hardest thing was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life.”

Doherty was first diagnosed in 2015 and went into remission two years later; however, the cancer returned in 2019 – and Perrault explained at the time that her condition had started to “go in a different direction”.

“Things got harder,” he said. “We kept fighting, we kept giving more support, we kept giving love, hope and support.”