Shannen Doherty's doctor recalls stars heartbreaking final moments before she took her last breath

The doctor in charge of treating Charmed star Shannen Doherty prior to her death at the weekend has lifted the lid on how she spent her final hours.

The Beverley Hills, 90120 actor passed away on Saturday (13 July) following a terminal cancer diagnosis.

Shannen was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, before it returned after a period of remission and spread to her brain and bones.

Her publicist Leslie Sloan broke the news of her passing on Saturday (13 July) with a statement released to People.

Dr. Lawrence D. Piro lifted the lid on Shannen's final moments. (Amanda Edwards/WireImage)

"The devoted daughter, sister, aunt and friend was surrounded by her loved ones as well as her dog, Bowie," the statement read.

"The family asks for their privacy at this time so they can grieve in peace."

And since then, Shannen's oncologist revealed how she spent her final hours.

Speaking to People, Dr Lawrence D. Piro disclosed that he was with the TV star when she passed away.

"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," he told the publication.

"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."

Shannen was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. (Instagram/@itsshando)

He added: "The hardest thing about this was that she wasn’t ready to leave because she loved life."

Prior to her death, Shannen said that she was no longer afraid to say her final goodbyes.

"I'm not afraid of death because I know where I'm going," she told People. "I know the people that I'm going to see. I think I would be afraid of death if I wasn't a good person, but I am."

She continued: "I don't want to die - that's the difference. I'm not afraid of dying, I just don't want to die, like ever."

Shannen had also previously revealed her plans for her body upon her death.

Dr Lawrence also recalled his final conversation with the star, adding: "We kept going until we couldn’t go any more.

Shannen's doctor says she fought until the very end. (Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Hallmark Channel)

"The last conversation that we had, she was in the process of realising 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 went on to explain that he never believed that the 'emotional challenge' that came with Shannen's ceaseless health hurdles affected her drive to survive.

"It certainly made it more challenging, but she’s such a winner that I feel like she pulled all the resources necessary to give the best fight against cancer, even though she was being very emotionally challenged," he said.

"She fought so hard and she didn’t believe that it would ever be over, which kind of makes everybody around you believe that, too, because you want to believe that."