Shannen Doherty has announced that her cancer has returned, five years after her initial breast cancer diagnosis.
The “Beverly Hills, 90210” star shared the sad news on “Good Morning America” telling Amy Robach, “It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that I have stage 4…So my cancer came back and that’s why I’m here.”
She has kept her diagnosis private for more than a year while filming the “BH90210” reboot but wanted to continue filming to honor her late co-star and friend Luke Perry, who passed away in March of 2019. Shannen found support by confiding in co-star Brian Austin Green who helped give support during the particularly rough days on set.
“I had a moment of great anxiety where I thought that I can’t do this and Brian was the one person who, of that group, who knew, that I told pretty quickly,” she explained. “Prior to shooting he would call me and he would say, ‘Whatever happens, I have your back.’ We were able to talk about Luke in a way that was positive and uplifting.”
.@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
The actress got emotional over breaking the news to her mom and husband, “It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways. 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. I would say that my first reaction is always concern about how am I going to tell my mom, my husband,” she tearfully said.
The 48-year-old wanted to tell her story before her health condition would be made public in court documents, which will be released this week due to an ongoing lawsuit with her insurance company, State Farm.
“I’d rather people here it from me. I don’t want it to be twisted. I don’t want it to be a court document. I want it to be real and authentic,” she said. “I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me.”
The 48-year-old is suing for damages that happened to her home during the 2018 Los Angeles wildfires. The actress believes that her insurance company should have paid more for damages, “You walked into the house and it just reeked of smoke. I tried, I communicated with my insurance company. I called, I got passed around from claims adjuster to claims adjuster,” she added. “I ended up suing State Farm. The result has been one of the most horrific processes I have ever been through.”
According to court documents obtained by ABC News, State Farm says they have paid nearly $1.1M for personal property, temporary housing, furniture rental and to clean and repair Shannen’s home.
“We strongly believe we have upheld our commitment to our customer and have paid what we owe on this claim. We are prepared to defend our position in court,” State Farm told ABC News in a statement.
But even with everything going on in Shannen’s life, she’s keeping a positive outlook, “I think the thing I want to do the most right now is I want to make an impact.”
Adding, “I want to be remembered for something bigger than just me.”
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