Shannen Doherty’s Cancer Metastasized, Nonprofit Established in Memory of Technoblade and More

June 9, 2023
Brielle Benyon
Brielle Benyon

Brielle Benyon, Assistant Managing Editor for CURE®, has been with MJH Life Sciences since 2016. She has served as an editor on both CURE and its sister publication, Oncology Nursing News. Brielle is a graduate from The College of New Jersey. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with family and friends, CrossFit and wishing she had the grace and confidence of her toddler-aged daughter.

From Shannen Doherty’s announcement that her breast cancer spread to her brain to a nonprofit being established in memory of the late YouTuber, Technoblade, here’s what’s happening in the oncology space this week.

Shannen Doherty’s breast cancer spread to her brain.

Actress Shannen Doherty, who is known for her roles in “Charmed” and “Beverly Hills, 90210,” announced on Instagram this week that the breast cancer that she was diagnosed with in 2015 has metastasized to her brain. After receiving the news, the 52-year-old started radiation in January.

Doherty posted a video on Instagram of her undergoing radiation to her brain. In it, viewers can see tears streaming down her face. “My fear is obvious. I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life. I am fortunate as I have great doctors like Dr. Amin Mirahdi and the amazing techs at Cedars Sinai. But that fear … the turmoil … the timing of it all …this is what cancer can look like,” she wrote.

After being diagnosed in 2015, Doherty learned in 2016 that the breast cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. The disease went into remission in 2017 before returning at stage 4 in 2020.

Kathy Griffin underwent vocal surgery.

Comedian and actress Kathy Griffin, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2021, recently underwent surgery on her vocal cords as “part of my recovery post-lung cancer surgery. I’m cancer free,” she wrote on TikTok.

Griffin said that she wanted to undergo the surgery to “be in good shape” for her show in Las Vegas later this month.

A punk band postponed their summer tour after their singer underwent surgery for cancer.

Mike Ness, the 61-year-old singer of the punk band, Social Distortion, recently underwent surgery for stage 1 tonsil cancer. As such, the Southern California-based band is postponing their 2023 North American summer tour, which was initially planned to start on June 30.

“In the midst of pre-production (on the band’s now-paused eighth studio album), I was diagnosed with stage 1 tonsil cancer. I was feeling well enough to continue with recording in the studio up until the very day before surgery. The band and I were so inspired and excited to lay down these tracks, which by the way, sound f-ing AWESOME!” Ness said in a statement.

The “One of Us” foundation was launched in memory of YouTuber, Technoblade.

Technoblade, who gained more than 11 million followers on YouTube for his Minecraft videos, died of stage 4 sarcoma last summer. Now, his father — known as Mr. Technodad — established the “One of Us Global Foundation” in partnership with the Sarcoma Foundation.

“The idea really grew out of the amazing fundraising that Technoblade and his colleagues were able to do in the past few years, especially the over million dollars that was raised for the Sarcoma Foundation in the last year since his diagnosis,” Stacey Street, president of the One of Us Global Foundation said in a YouTube video with Mr. Technodad. “We felt that a foundation would allow us to coordinate and harness these resources in a way that could generate long-term enduring impact for our world.”

The organization’s goal is to “help young people find their voice and realize their dreams … through mentorship, scholarship and global networks of support and community,” according to their website.

Pianist George Winston died of cancer.

George Winston, a Grammy-winning pianist whose albums “Autumn,” “Winter Into Spring” and “December” each sold over a million albums, died at 73 years of age, 10 years after being diagnosed with cancer, according to a Tweet published on the musician’s account.

“Throughout his cancer treatments, George continued to write and record new music, and he stayed true to his greatest passion: performing for live audiences while raising funds for Feeding America to help fight the national hunger crisis along with donating proceeds from each of his concerts to local food banks,” a statement on his website said.


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