Shannen Doherty’s doctor reveals her ‘sad’ final moments before death: “The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life.” … see more

“The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life,” he shared.

Shannen Doherty’s doctor and close friend Lawrence D. Piro is remembering the Charmed actress’ final days before her death at age 53 on Sunday.

The oncologist told PEOPLE that Doherty, who fought a long battle with breast cancer, was a “very active participant in her entire health journey” until the very end.

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and revealed that she was in remission two years later. However, the cancer returned as metastatic stage 4 cancer in 2020. Last November, she revealed that it had also spread to her bones.

“We kept going until we couldn’t go any more,” Piro explained. “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.”

He noted that Doherty still remained positive even when having to confront “a limited situation of options” due to her declining health. “Still, the conversation was about, ‘What can we do within those limitations?’ As opposed to, ‘Let’s do nothing,’” Piro recalled. “That wasn’t even open for discussion, because that’s not how Shannen lived. She was an incredible warrior in everything she did.”

However, he acknowledged that “things turned much more difficult” in her last couple of weeks, adding, “We continued to fight while putting in more support and we just kept loving and hoping and supporting.”

The doctor said that Doherty spent her last moments surrounded by those closest to her, like her pup 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,” Piro 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 added that Doherty would want others to live their life to the fullest after her passing. “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,” he said.