The actress Shannen Doherty revealed Tuesday that she got a second diagnosis of breast cancer, this time stage 4, about a year ago.
The “90210” and “Charmed” actress said she is going public with the diagnosis now because “it’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week.”
“I don’t think that I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,” Doherty said in an interview that aired Tuesday on ABC News’ “Good Morning America.”
Doherty, 48, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and underwent treatment for about two years before announcing in 2017 that she was in remission.
She said that after both the initial diagnosis and the more recent one, “my first reaction is always concern about, ‘How am I going to tell my mom? My husband?’”
“My mom is a ridiculously strong, courageous human being. So is my husband, but I worry about him,” Doherty said.
“I’m petrified. I’m pretty scared,” she added.
“There are definitely days where I say, ‘Why me?’ And then I go, ‘Why not me? Who else?’” Doherty said. “Who else besides me deserves this? None of us do.”
March 2019: Shannen Doherty ‘heartbroken’ after Luke Perry’s death
Doherty said that dealing with “90210” co-star Luke Perry’s sudden death after he suffered a stroke at age 52 last year also had her asking why.
“Why wasn’t it me? It was so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was seemingly healthy to go first,” Doherty said.
She said she decided to act in the “90210” reboot, “BH90210,” in part to honor Perry.
She also kept filming, working 16-hour days, to prove she “can work, and other people with stage 4 can work, too.”
“You know, our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do,” Doherty said. But still, “I had moments of great anxiety where I thought I can’t really do this.”
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