Shannen Doherty's Doctor Gives Update on Her Mother Nearly 4 Months After Star's Death: Grieving Is 'a Long Process'

The actress' doctor and friend, Lawrence Piro, said that fans' love for Shannen brings her mother Rosa "a great sense of peacefulness"

Nearly four months after Shannen Doherty's death, her doctor is speaking out for the first time and offering a rare update on her mother, Rosa Doherty.

Dr. Lawrence Piro, who was Shannen's oncologist during her breast cancer journey and a close friend, appeared on the Nov. 4 episode of the late star's podcast, Let's Be Clear, and admitted it's "been hard to talk about her" since she died on July 13.

He said that he'd decided to record a podcast episode reflecting on her cancer journey and her friendship after he "sat down with Rosa," her mother.

Related: Shannen Doherty's Mom on Her Daughter's Death at 53: 'A Child Should Never Go Before a Parent'

"We had a chat," he said, before sharing some insight into how Rosa is doing following her daughter's death at age 53.

"I see Rosa all the time. I take care of Rosa as well. And I know all of you are concerned about her too. Rosa is doing fine. She lives in Shannen's house and she's taking care of the dogs and doing all the things that she did before."

"She's grieving, you know, it's a long process," Piro said, adding that Shannen's mother is coping with the grief "very well, very naturally and normally."

"She's doing well and she, you know, she's so dedicated to Shannen's fans and to their memory of Shannen and they're keeping Shannen's memories alive and their loyalty to Shannen," he continued.

"And so I should express that to you, you know, on her behalf. She wanted me to express that, because it's very meaningful to her and it's a great sense of... sort of peacefulness and recognition, really. When you lose someone, to know they're loved and recognized by so many people, it's a great consolation."

Related: Shannen Doherty's Mother Speaks Out After Actress' Death: 'My Beautiful Girl and My Heart' (Exclusive)

Following Shannen's death this summer, Piro spoke to PEOPLE about the actress' final moments, as he said she was "very comfortable and sleeping and transitioning, and she was surrounded by some of her very close friends."

"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."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. 

Throughout her years-long journey with cancer — she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and went into remission in 2017, but the cancer returned in 2019 and the following year, she revealed she'd been diagnosed with metastatic stage 4 cancer — Piro said Shannen was always "a step above positive."

“In her mind, she was not wanting to consider any other alternative than ‘we were beating this and we were engaged in life,’” he said. “We didn't really talk about what that meant in terms of additional time for her because that just wasn't how she operated. She wanted to live every day, not as if it were her last day, but as if it were the beginning of a whole another chapter for her.”