Shannen Doherty desperately wanted children before she died

Before her death, Shannen Doherty expressed her desire to have children.

The Beverly Hills, 90210 Star died on Saturday, July 13, at the age of 53 after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

Doherty, who released the latest episode of her podcast So that we understand each other Just days before her death, she said in a January episode with her oncologist Dr. Lawrence Piro that she had been “desperately” trying to get pregnant with her ex before suffering a cancer relapse in 2019.

“I wanted a child not only for myself, but for my husband. I wanted it for our marriage. I wanted that part of him to be fulfilled, too,” Doherty said, speaking about how her desire to have children influenced her cancer treatment decisions.

Doherty said she and her then-husband Kurt Iswarienko married in 2011 when they were “of advanced age.”

“So when it came time to make that decision, we needed IVF, and I did a number of rounds of it,” said the Charmed Alum continued.

Doherty eventually stopped IVF due to menopause and her ongoing health issues, which included a mastectomy in 2016.

After her disease went into remission in 2017, the cancer returned in 2019 and Doherty announced in 2020 that she was suffering from stage four metastatic cancer. In 2023, she shared that the cancer had spread to her brain and bones.

Doherty and Iswarienko split in early 2023, and in November 2023 she told PEOPLE that she was just beginning to open herself up to love again.

“I don’t really know what that looks like,” she said at the time. “I have a best friend, a male best friend, who we joke that we’re married to, and his two kids and I have had major breakthroughs, and we just love each other and hang out together, and I kind of consider them my kids.”

“I don’t know if it’s because of that or because you bump into someone randomly and feel an instant connection. But remember, like I said, I’m open, and I wasn’t,” she added. “It’s a whole new thing. And when I say whole new, I mean whole new in the last three weeks.”

As for having children, she said, “God, I waver all the time.”

“I think there’s nothing I’d rather do than be a mother,” she added. “I’ve always wanted to, and I think if I did it with my best friend or a partner, I don’t know how long it would take… I see kids who don’t have parents at all, and I think if I adopt a child or whatever, any amount of time is better than nothing. Maybe. I don’t know.”

Doherty said there is a possibility that she is “just waiting for one of those clinical trials” that would likely help improve her health.

“I’m waiting for the right time and in the meantime I have my best friend’s kids and my brother’s (Sean) seven kids. They’re all grown up, but that’s OK,” she continued.

In November 2023, she posted a video on Instagram of herself dancing with her boyfriend Chris Cortazzo’s children. On July 14, he posted an Instagram tribute montage with photos of them and his children. He captioned the post, “My beloved boyfriend and my heart. What memories and laughter we have shared on this journey. You have been my protector, my best friend and my divine wife. My heart is broken. I love you forever, my sweet, dear boyfriend.”

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Doherty also spent time with Sarah Michelle Gellar’s ​​children, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Star said in an episode of So that we understand each other in February.

“You’ve given my kids such a life during COVID, and I’ve really struggled to give them that freedom and space to be kids and have adventures,” she told Doherty. “And you opened your home to us during COVID in a way that I’ll be grateful for for the rest of my life.”

Doherty also expressed to PEOPLE her desire to continue living a fulfilling life.

“I’m not done living. I’m not done loving. I’m not done creating. I’m not done hopefully changing things for the better,” she said. “I’m just not — I’m not done.”

Doherty’s longtime publicist Leslie Sloane confirmed Doherty’s death on July 13 in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE on July 14.

“It is with a heavy heart that I confirm the passing of actress Shannen Doherty… She lost her battle with cancer after battling the disease for years,” Sloane said. “The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones and her dog Bowie. The family requests privacy so they can grieve in peace.”