Shannen Doherty Reveals Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis on ‘GMA’ (VIDEO)
Beverly Hills, 90210 star Shannen Doherty spoke with Good Morning America on Tuesday, opening up about her cancer returning.
The actress, who was initially diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 before going into remission, shares that the cancer has returned and she’s currently stage 4. Known for her role as Brenda on the ’90s TV hit, Doherty appeared in the meta mockumentary series BH90210 last summer with most of her former costars.
Sitting down with Amy Robach, Doherty got candid about why she’s sharing her diagnosis now, saying, “It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week, that I’m stage 4. My cancer came back, and that’s why I’m here.”
Doherty confirmed that she’s been living with this news privately for a year and said, “I don’t think that I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways. There are definitely days where I say, ‘Why me?’ and then I go, ‘Well, why not me? Who else?’
Shannen Doherty with Brian Austin Green and Ian Ziering in BH90210 (Credit: Shane Harvey/FOX)
“Who else, besides me, deserves this? None of us do,” she added.
She also opened up about working on the 90210 reboot shortly after Luke Perry‘s passing. She said her initial thoughts were, “Why wasn’t it me? It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was seemingly healthy to go first. It was really shocking, and the least I could do to honor him was do that show.”
While working on BH90210, she shared her health news with one castmate. “I had moments of great anxiety where I thought, ‘I can’t really do this,’ and Brian [Austin Green] was the one person of that group of people that knew, that I told pretty quickly.”
“Prior to shooting, he would always call me and say, ‘Hey, listen, whatever happens, I have your back,’ and we were able to talk about Luke in a way that was very positive and uplifting and sort of remember a lot of great moments.”
BH90210‘s Gabrielle Carteris, Tori Spelling, Brian Austin Green, Jason Priestley, Shannen Doherty, Jennie Garth and Ian Ziering (Credit: Brian Bowen Smith/FOX)
Doherty, who maintains that she’d rather keep her cancer private, also explained that the diagnosis would be included in a court document that will go public any day now. The actress is currently in the middle of a lawsuit with State Farm regarding damage to her home during the Woolsey Fire.
Hear more about Doherty’s battles below in the interview.
