Shannen Doherty reveals she's battling Stage 4 cancer: 'I'm petrified'

Shannen Doherty went public with her second breast cancer battle in an exclusive TV interview, where she admits that she is still in disbelief and is worried about her loved ones.

The 48-year-old "Beverly Hills 90210" alum revealed that her cancer is back, and that it is in Stage 4 during a sit-down interview with ABC News. The actress learned about it about a year ago following years of remission after her first diagnosis in 2015.

Doherty admitted that she still wants to keep her cancer battle private since she has not yet processed it, calling it "a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways." However, she decided to let the public know straight from her because she wants it "to be real and authentic." She said she wants "to control the narrative."

"I'd rather people hear it from me. I don't want it to be twisted," Doherty said.

As for the fear, the "Charmed" star admitted that she feels "pretty scared" and "petrified." She revealed that when she learned that her cancer is back, her first concern was how she would tell her husband and her mother. She knows that her mother is courageous and strong, so is her husband, but she still worries about them.

Despite the diagnosis, the actress still went back to work. She kept a brave face and filmed the "Beverly Hills 90210" reboot. Her co-star, Brian Austin Green, learned about her cancer battle and he helped her through it each day. It was at that point that she questioned why she did not die instead of another co-star, Luke Perry, who passed away from a stroke in 2019.

"It was so weird for me to be diagnosed, and somebody who was seemingly healthy to go first. It was really shocking. And the least I could do to honour him was to do that show," Doherty shared.

Doherty's decision to talk about her cancer battle is in light of litigation with her insurance company over her house, which was damaged in the 2018 California wildfires. She is talking about her illness because court documents detailing her health condition will be made public. The said documents reveal that the plaintiff "is dying of stage 4 terminal cancer."