Shannen Doherty revealed that her breast cancer diagnosis has returned and reached stage 4 in an interview with Good Morning America Tuesday.
“I don’t think I’ve processed it,” Doherty said. “It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways… I definitely have days where I say why me? And then I go, well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do.”
The actress, who famously starred in Charmed and Beverly Hills 90210, has been fairly open about her battle with cancer since she first detailed her diagnosis in 2015. However, she kept its return and progression relatively private over the past year, ultimately deciding to come forth because details were likely to emerge due to an ongoing legal battle with her insurance company over home damages related to the 2018 Woolsey Fire in California.
“I’d rather people hear it from me,” she said. “I don’t want it to be twisted. I don’t want it to be a court document. I want it to be real and authentic. And I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me, I just didn’t want them to know yet.”
Doherty said she learned her breast cancer had progressed to stage 4 prior to shooting the recent 90210 reboot, BH90210, and only told a few people as production began. Co-star Brian Austin Greene was one person she told, saying the actor “helped me through a lot.” But Doherty was also driven by her desire to show that “people with stage 4 can work, too. Like, you know, our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do.”
Doherty added that her decision to partake in the 90210 reboot was also spurred by the sudden death of Luke Perry last March. “It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first,” Doherty said. “It was really, like, shocking. And the least I could do to honor him was to do that show.”
