Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Breast Cancer Diagnosis: ‘It’s a Bitter Pill to Swallow’
Shannen Doherty has revealed that she has been diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
The Beverly Hills, 90210 star revealed her grim health news during an interview with Amy Robach from ABC News that aired on Good Morning America on Tuesday (Feb. 4).
"It's going to come out in a matter of days or a week that I'm Stage 4. So my cancer came back. And that's why I'm here," Doherty tells Robach, adding, "I don't think I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and she announced that it was in remission in 2017. She got the Stage 4 diagnosis in late 2018, she says, just four months before she went back to work on BH90210, a reboot of her iconic show. She says she felt compelled to return to her most famous role as a tribute to her friend and co-star Luke Perry, who unexpectedly died of a stroke in March of 2019.
"It's so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first," Doherty states. "It was really, like, shocking. And the least I could do to honor him was to do that show. I still haven't done enough, in my opinion. So it's a hard one."
Doherty is currently embroiled in a lawsuit with her insurance company over damage her home sustained in a fire in 2018. She came forward with the news of her diagnosis now because she feared her health would become public knowledge in court documents as that suit moves forward.
"I'd rather people hear it from me. I don't want it to be twisted," she asserts. "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."
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