Feb. 4 (UPI) — Shannen Doherty says her breast cancer has returned and is now stage 4.
The 48-year-old actress shared the news in an interview Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” nearly five years after her initial diagnosis with cancer.
Doherty confirmed she’s been privately battling cancer again for a year now.
“I don’t think that I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,” the star said.
“I definitely have days where I say, ‘Why me?'” she shared. “And then I go, well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do.”
Doherty said she kept her diagnosis secret as she filmed the “Beverly Hills, 90210” reboot “BH90210” in 2019, just months after her former co-star Luke Perry’s death.
“It was so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first,” the actress said. “It was really, like, shocking. And the least I could do to honor him was to do that show.”
“One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did ‘90210’ and didn’t really tell anybody because I thought, people can look at that other people with stage four can work too. Like, you know, our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do,” she added.
Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015. She celebrated her first year of remission in April 2018 after completing chemotherapy in February 2017.
Doherty has been largely public about her health issues, including sharing her initial battle with cancer on social media, which she addressed in the March 2019 issue of Health magazine.
“I share my experience to help connect, bring awareness and hopefully encourage those going thru cancer to stay positive,” she said. “So many of you have helped me with your words, prayers and support.”
Doherty played Brenda Walsh on “Beverly Hills, 90210” and “BH90210.” She is also known for portraying Prue Halliwell on “Charmed.”
