Shannen Doherty Says Her Breast Cancer Has Returned at Stage Four

By Will Thorne

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Shannen Doherty has revealed that her breast cancer diagnosis has returned.

During an interview with ABC News which aired Tuesday on “Good Morning America,” Doherty said she’s at “stage four,” adding that “it’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways.”

Doherty was initially diagnosed back in March 2015, and has been in remission for the last few years. As recently as August 2019, Doherty talked about being in remission during an interview with Variety, right before the premiere of the “Beverly Hills, 90210” reboot “BH90210” in which she starred.

“I’m doing fine. I get checked on a regular basis. I’m overly cautious at this point. I think I live my life carefully but very optimistically. I definitely value every second that I have and my relationships have changed for the better. Cancer really brought that home for me of valuing every single second,” Doherty said at the time.

During the “GMA” interview, Doherty, who is also known for being one of the original stars of “Charmed” (which she exited after three seasons), discussed her thoughts when she heard the cancer had returned.

“I definitely have days where I say why me. And then I go, well, why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do,” she said. “But I would say that my first reaction is always concern about how am I going to tell my mom, my husband.”

She also talked about learning about the cancer’s return while shooting “,” and only four months after the passing of her friend and “Beverly Hills, 90210” co-star Luke Perry. Doherty decided to keep the diagnosis secret for a while, after previously sharing her journey through treatment very publicly on Instagram, because she wanted to prove that people diagnosed with stage four cancer “still have some living to do.”

“It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first,” said Doherty. “It was really, like, shocking. And the least I could do to honor him was to do that show. I still haven’t done, in my opinion. So it’s a hard one.”

“BH90210” also saw the return of fellow original cast members Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth, Ian Ziering, Gabrielle Carteris, Brian Austin Green, and Tori Spelling, all playing heightened versions of themselves.

The return ended after a brief six-episode run, after Fox opted not to extend the revival for a second season.

It featured  several moments of tribute to late “Riverdale” star , including a postscript at the end of the premiere which showed a clip from Perry’s first appearance as teen heartthrob Dylan McKay and the words, “For our friend, Luke Perry.”