Hollywood actress Shannen Doherty has spent much of the past decade waging a well-publicized battle against cancer.

Yet despite her heartbreaking diagnosis, the star is still holding out hope that a cure for the disease will be found. 

Doherty would like to "squeeze out another three to five years"

According to Fox News, Doherty expressed that sentiment earlier this week during an episode of her podcast "Let's Be Clear."

"You and I always talk about the fact that we just need to squeeze out another three to five years, and then there’s going to be T-cell therapy or there’s going to be this or there's going to be that, whatever it is," she told her oncologist, Dr. Lawrence Piro.

Shannen Doherty gives optimistic outlook on new year amid cancer battle https://t.co/R7rNIISbXa

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"There’s going to be a lot more options that will give another five years. Then, in those five years, there’s a whole other group of options, and eventually there’s going to be a cure," she insisted.

Cancer has spread to Doherty's brain

Fox News noted that this is not the first time Doherty and Piro have talked about cancer treatment, in a previous episode they compared it to horseback riding.

"I always say that it’s important to think of each therapy as a horse. And, in a horse race, you want to ride every horse as long as it rides," Piro was quoted as saying.

"And then you ride the next horse as much as possible, and you hope you make it a few laps. Then, there’s altogether another new set of horses to ride, to make the race that much longer," the doctor went on to explain.

Entertainment Weekly reported that Doherty spoke last month about the cancer having spread to her brain, saying, "I had brain surgery, which was the most frightening thing I have ever been through in my entire life."

Actress underwent surgery after learning her husband had an affair

"I didn’t think I was going to make it. I was positive that I was gonna die, and the best-case scenario in my head if I didn’t die was that I would lose the ability to walk or to talk," she recalled.

What's more, Doherty revealed that the procedure took place on the same day she learned that her husband had been unfaithful to her.

"I went into that surgery early in the morning, and I went in after I found out that my marriage was essentially over, that my husband had been carrying on an affair for two years," the actress said.

"At the end of the day, I just felt so incredibly unloved by someone I was with for 14 years, by someone I loved with all my heart," she added.