Pinpointing pain: Is it cancer or cancer treatment?

Charmed Star Shannen Doherty Reveals She Has Stage 4 Cancer Three Years After Being Given The All-clear

Charmed star Shannen Doherty has revealed she has stage 4 cancer, three years after going into remission.

In an emotional new interview, the actress revealed that her cancer returned last year, and she is now opening up before the news becomes public in court documents amid an ongoing lawsuit against an insurance company.

"It's going to come out in a matter of days or a week that I am stage 4, so my cancer came back and that's why I am here," she revealed on Good Morning America. "I don't think that I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways.

ABC

"There are some days where I say, 'Why me?' And then I go, 'Why not me?'," Doherty added through tears. "Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do. And I would say my first reaction is always concern about how am I going to tell my mom, my husband."

In the interview, the actress also spoke about late Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Luke Perry, admitting she wanted to honour him by doing the recent reboot series BH90210.

"It was so weird for me to be diagnosed and for someone who was seemingly healthy to go first," she said of his death. "It was really shocking, and the least I could do to honour him was to do that show."

Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage

Doherty went on to explain that she wanted to control the narrative before the news came out in court documents.

"I'd rather people hear it from me," the actress continued. "I don't want it to be twisted, I don't want it to be a court document. I want it to be real and authentic. I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me."

The star also revealed that she was "petrified" and that she "worries" for her husband, though wants to "make an impact" by speaking out about her condition.

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Sam is a freelance reporter and sub-editor who has a particular interest in movies, TV and music. After completing a journalism Masters at City University, London, Sam joined Digital Spy as a reporter, and has also freelanced for publications such as NME and Screen International.  Sam, who also has a degree in Film, can wax lyrical about everything from Lord of the Rings to Love Is Blind, and is equally in his element crossing every 't' and dotting every 'i' as a sub-editor.

Local YouTube Star 'Grandpa Ron' Shares His Battle With Prostate Cancer

FARGO — A local YouTube star's experience with cancer is inspiring many others around the world.

Dubbed by many as Grandpa Ron, 81-year-old Ron Schmidt of the C-Boys-TV YouTube group is inspiring millions going through their own battles with cancer.

While you can find him riding in a motorcycle sidecar or on social media, Grandpa Ron recently underwent his fourth chemotherapy treatment at Sanford Roger Maris Cancer Center.

His posts about his fight with Stage 4 prostate cancer over the last few months have drawn thousands of comments from people all over the world. Many of them are praying for Schmidt. Others speak about their own experiences and how Grandpa Ron is helping them.

"I read every one of them were prayers for Grandpa Ron from all over the world. And then we hear stories about their grandparents or their uncle, their aunt, their mother, just unbelievable. All of a sudden, you know, I'm teary-eyed but I'm excited that I get all that support and my family around here and friends. It's unbelievable," Schmidt said.

Members of the C-Boys-TV group showed their support and had their heads shaved by Schmidt in a recent video, a trend that apparently caught on quickly with their fan base

"Two weeks ago I was reading something where a guy was in the shower. He comes out, his 4-year-old is shaving his head. What are you doing? I'm shaving this for Grandpa Ron's cancer," Schmidt said.

Schmidt says the cancer diagnosis caught him by surprise. He says he didn't think he needed a primary care doctor since he was in such good health. A local physician says that's a common misconception and all men should start yearly checkups and cancer screenings as early as 40 years old.

"The best way to kind of determine if you're someone who needs to have screening for prostate cancer would be to establish with a primary care physician or primary care doctor," said Dr. Steven Roseno, a family medicine specialist for Sanford.

The C-Boys motto is "Life Wide Open," words that Schmidt and the group want every one to live by. Encouraging others fighting cancer to stay active and support others.

It's what drives him to keep doing what he loves.

"Get out and do something, you know. I know I have the thing under the 'Life Wide Open' right here. Live it that way when you have cancer. I mean, get out and do it," Schmidt said.

TikToker Shares Husband's Cancer Journey And Shocking Reason He's Still Working

Content creator Nikole Forsyth took to TikTok to share her story, not only to ask for help but also to possibly help others going through a similar situation.

Nikole recently shared her family's tragic struggle as her husband is in hospice and must continue to show up for work every day. The reason for that shocks many.

TikToker's Husband Working While In Hospice So The Family Doesn't Lose Insurance

TikToklyft.Me.Up

Nikole took to TikTok to share her tragic story and the response she's received has been "incredible."

"If there was ever a time to blow up a TikTok, let it be now. My husband has stage 4 osteosarcoma, which is bone cancer. He was diagnosed in March of 2020," she said in a recently shared TikTok video.

"He's been doing, you know, not the best, but okay up until now. We are basically on end-of-life care, which is hospice, but he still needs to go to work because if he doesn't go to work, then he will no longer have life insurance, and his mindset is to care for myself and my daughter after he passes, which is telling of what type of person he is."

Nikole Shared Her Story With The Blast

Nikole recently shared more of the story with The Blast exclusively. She said she met her husband, James, in 2015, got engaged in 2018, and married in September 2019.

"In October of 2019, James started having severe pain in his left shoulder. He was already going to physical therapy because of a car accident so the physical therapist sent him for scans," she said. "It took until March of 2020, when I was already four months pregnant, to get diagnosed with stage 4 osteosarcoma that had spread to his lungs."

James then had his humorous bone removed and underwent intense chemotherapy. He was cancer-free for three months, but then it came back.

"James decided that he didn't want to do any more IV chemo because it was no life worth living, so he started an oral chemo medicine. The oral chemo worked for a long time and then stopped working. So he tried a few other things to no avail."

Throughout this time, Nikole and James were going through fertility treatments and did two intrauterine inseminations and two rounds of IVF but they were all unsuccessful. Since they had to pay out of pocket, they were forced to stop, leaving them with another devastating loss to process.

If James Stops Working, He Loses His Insurance

Nikole Forsyth

James' job has been helpful throughout the whole process, but sadly, it's the "system" that's "broken," and Nikole hopes that with awareness, she's able to help change that one day.

"James has taken time off work quite a few times and the people he works with have been so generous to donate time and are always checking on him," Nikole told The Blast. "The things that have become issues are when he goes out of work, he doesn't get paid because he has no time left and he has to pay his entire health insurance and life insurance, which is over $1,000 out of pocket."

While James is granted one year out of work where his job will be kept for him unpaid, the issue he's currently facing is that as of July 19, doctors say there are no more treatment options.

"James is concerned that if he is out of work and lives past one year, which the doctor doesn't seem to think he will but James has beaten every odd there has been, he will be too sick to return to work so me and our daughter will not get life insurance because he will no longer be employed or in the union and he cannot get private life insurance because he is already sick," Nikole explained.

James Has Been Making Videos For His Daughter Since He Was Diagnosed

Nikole Forsyth

Nikole also shared that her husband has been planning ahead and making videos for their daughter that include life lessons, love, and compassion.

"His goal is to make sure she always has words of wisdom from her daddy to look back on for each milestone of life," she said. "He's made birthday cards for her and videos reading books for her to watch when she's missing him. James has really struggled with making all of these things because it just shows how real it all is. I have asked for suggestions from people on Tiktok and am always taking more suggestions of things he can leave for our daughter."

Something that Nikole would love to do for James somehow gets him to a live taping of "Saturday Night Live." He's also a big fan of wrestling and said, "If there was ever a chance to do it, it would have to be now so wishing some people see this with any connections to that."

The family also has a GoFundMe set up if anyone wants to donate.

Nikole Has Received Tons Of Support On TikTok

TikToklyft.Me.Up

 Nikole decided to share her story in the hopes of maybe helping someone else someday.

"I've always felt that I'm here on this earth for a bigger purpose, and I've found that through the struggles I've endured my purpose is likely to help others with similar situations," she said. "I'm learning as I go, but one day, I hope my struggles can be someone else's guidebook."

For anyone who's going through something similar, Nikole said to "hold strong and always think positively because what we think manifests."

"Know there is a great purpose for the suffering; it's going to turn you into the person you need to be," she said. "I feel as though if I don't use spirituality, I would just crumble, but as a mom and a wife, I need to continue on with strength. I believe that even when our loved ones pass, they are forever with us, by our side, guiding us throughout our lives."

 The outpouring of love and support from people who come across Nikole's videos has been "incredible." 

"I've felt so much love, validation, and solidarity from complete strangers," she continued. "It's so helpful because the world can be so cruel, but there's also so much greatness that gets overlooked, but will never go unnoticed by me."

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