Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Diagnosis

'My cancer came back,' says actress
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 4, 2020 11:46 AM CST
Shannen Doherty: 'My Cancer Came Back'
Brian Austin Green, from left, Shannen Doherty and Ian Ziering participate in Fox's "BH90210" panel at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, Calif., on Aug. 7, 2019.   (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

Shannen Doherty delivered somber news on Tuesday. The actress who announced she was in remission from breast cancer in 2017 revealed to ABC News that she is now in stage 4. "My cancer came back," said Doherty, who was first diagnosed with the disease in 2015. "I don't think I've processed it," the 48-year-old said of the 2019 relapse. "It's so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first," she said, referring to former 90210 co-star Luke Perry, who died of a stroke last year. "It was really, like, shocking." She said she filmed a reboot of 90210 without revealing her diagnosis, believing it was "the least I could do to honor him," per E! News.

She also wanted to prove "people with stage four can work, too," she said. "Like, you know, our life doesn't end the minute we get that diagnosis." Still, there were moments during 16-hour shifts on set that she thought she'd have to call it quits. But Brian Austin Green, who knew of her diagnosis, helped push her through. "Prior to shooting he would always call me and say, 'Listen, you know, whatever happens, I have your back,'" she said. "I definitely have days where I say, ‘Why me?" she added. "And then I go, 'Well why not me? Who else? Who else beside me deserves this?' None of us do." She said she'd decided to speak out because the diagnosis might’ve been revealed in a lawsuit brought against State Farm in a dispute over homeowner's insurance. (Another high-profile figure, Rush Limbaugh, announced a cancer diagnosis this week.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X