Learning to survive. Shannen Doherty opened up about how she’s coping after being diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer.
“I want to thank all of you for your love, prayers and support. It’s an odd time right now and I find my feet not completely underneath me,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum, 48, admitted via Instagram on Tuesday, February 11, while captioning a photo of herself riding off on a horse. “To say I have stress is an understatement. To say that I’m struggling is mild. But… I believe that I will find my footing.”
Doherty continued, “I’ll dig deep for the inner strength I need to face it all. I pray I do it all with dignity and grace. I have so much to say. So much to share. I will. For now … please know how much you all help lift me.”
On February 4, the Heathers actress revealed to Amy Robach on Good Morning America that she was diagnosed with terminal breast cancer three years after going into remission. She learned of the cancer recurrence just four months before her pal and former costar Luke Perry passed away in March 2019.
Doherty initially concealed the revelation this time around, even continuing to shoot on Fox’s 90210 revival series despite her condition.
“It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first,” she said of Perry, who lost his life at 52 following stroke complications. “It was really, like, shocking. And the least I could do to honor him was to do that show.”
The Charmed alum added, “One of the reasons, along with Luke, that I did 90210 and didn’t really tell anybody [was] because I thought, ‘People can look at that [and see] other people with stage IV can work too.’ Like, you know, our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do.”
Doherty chose to reveal her cancer recurrence to Robach, 47, on GMA because she knew the news was “going to come out in a matter of days or a week” due to a lawsuit she’s involved in with State Farm. In court documents obtained by TMZ on February 4, the TV legend filed a lawsuit against her insurer that reportedly declared that she was “dying” from cancer. Doherty’s lawyer stated in the legal documentation that the actress has been prohibited from living “her remaining years peacefully in her home” due to her ongoing issues with State Farm.
