Shannen Doherty has been diagnosed with stage four cancer, five years after her initial breast cancer diagnosis.
The 48-year-old has been living with stage four cancer for a year, when her cancer returned after she went into remission.
Speaking on Good Morning America, the Charmed actress said: ‘It’s going to come out in a matter of days or week that I am stage four. So my cancer came back and that’s why I am here.
‘I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways. There’s definitely days when I say “why me”, and then I go, “well, why not me, who else besides me deserves this?” None of us do.’
.@ABC NEWS EXCLUSIVE: @DohertyShannen opens up about her private health battle. “I’m stage four – my cancer came back.”@arobachhttps://t.co/IvsAr3odaj pic.twitter.com/Amhcm7x5Q4
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 4, 2020
She admitted that she was mostly worried about how her mother Rosa and her husband Kurt Iswarienko would cope with the news.
Tearing up, the actress said: ‘I’m petrified. I’m pretty scared. My mom is a ridiculously strong, courageous human being and so is my husband, but I worry about him.’
Shannen said that she was coming forward about her health as her cancer diagnosis would come out in court documents, in a lawsuit she is filing against insurance company State Farm, in relation to what she calls an unpaid claim for damage to her home following the Woolsey fires in California in 2018.
State Farm says that it has paid Doherty $1.1 million but that she feels she is entitled to more.
She said she hopes the lawsuit will be one of the things she’ll be remembered for, saying: ‘I think the thing I want to do the most right now is make an impact. I can through this lawsuit and by saying enough is enough with big business and corporations running the little person into the ground.
‘It’s not fair and I’m taking a stand for all of us but it’s more about how I want to be remembered for something bigger than just me.’
Shannen returned to work amidst her diagnosis in the Beverly Hills 90210 reboot, shortly after the death of her co-star Luke Perry.
And she admits she thought ‘Why wasn’t it me’ when Luke, who was seemingly healthy, died after suffering a massive stroke.
Doherty hopes that her work ethic on the show will prove that others who have stage four cancer can still hold down jobs, saying: ‘Our life doesn’t end when we get that diagnosis. We’ve still got some living to do.’
Shannen was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, and went into remission two years later after eight rounds of chemotherapy and a single mastectomy.
At the time, the star wrote on social media: ‘Moments. They happen. Today was and is a moment. What does remission mean? I heard that word and have no idea how to react. Good news? YES. Overwhelming. YES. Now more waiting.
‘As every single one of my fellow cancer family knows, the next five years is crucial. Reoccurrences happen all the time. Many of you have shared that very story with me. So with a heart that is certainly lighter, I wait.’
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