In February 2020, fans of actress and pop culture icon Shannen Doherty were shocked to learn the 50-year-old had been battling cancer again. In an emotional interview with USA Today at the time, the Beverly Hills, 90210 star revealed her cancer had returned after going in remission in 2015.
Now, the usually quiet actress is giving fans an update on her stage 4 cancer battle.
RELATED STORIES
Fans will remember Shannen was previously diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015, but had gone into remission after treatment.
Talking to Good Morning America back in February 2020, Shannen revealed her cancer had come back.
“I’m stage four,” Shannen told ABC news anchor Amy Robach at the time. “My cancer came back.”
Last year, Shannen’s husband, Kurt Iswarienko, told *Elle* magazine that his wife doesn’t look like she’s battling stage IV breast cancer.
“I think people have a mental picture of Stage IV cancer as someone sitting in a gray hospital gown, looking out a window on their deathbed,” he explained .
“I don’t see a cancer patient when I look at Shannen. I see the same woman I fell in love with. She looks healthy and vital.”
Reflecting on the first time she was diagnosed with cancer, Shannen said it brought her back to reality after decades of scandalous rumors and tabloid lies.
“When I got cancer the first time, it was this really beautiful thing, because it finally stripped all of that away. Those walls were, like, eliminated. That sort of childhood resentment—19 to me is childhood—was gone,” she explained.
While discussing life with terminal cancer, Shannen explained, “The small things are magnified for me.”
“We have this endless well within us, and it’s just about continuing to dig in that well for the strength to face adversity—and so that we can also see all the beauty.”
When it comes to final goodbyes, however, Shannen says she isn’t ready.
“I haven’t sat down to write letters. That’s something I need to do. There are things I need to say to my mom. I want my husband to know what he’s meant to me,” she revealed at the time.
Now, Shannen is giving fans an update a year after her last public interview.
The 50-year-old chatted about her own cancer battle during a virtual panel for her upcoming Lifetime movie List Of A Lifetime revealing her cancer is just a “part of life at this point.”
List Of A Lifetime hits close to home as the film follows a woman who has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
Posting on her Instagram a few weeks back, Shannen explained how important the project has been to her.
“I got to direct special content for @lifetimetv @lifetimemovies for a very special movie List of a Lifetime ,” she captioned a behind-the-scenes photo.
“For me, being a part of this is very special as the movie is about breast cancer and then to be able to direct these wonderful ladies who do an amazing job in the movie plus direct our actual director for the movie….”
“Well needless to say it was one of my favorite days…” she added.
Speaking at the movie’s panel, Shannen explained the sense of responsibility she feels as an actress conveying a real-life experience.
“I feel like I have a responsibility in my more public life, which I separate from my acting life… to talk about cancer and perhaps educate people more and let people know that people with stage 4 are very much alive and very active,” she told reporters, as reported by *People.*
“My husband says that you would never know that I have cancer,” Shannen added. “I never really complain. I don’t really talk about it. It’s part of life at this point.”
This upcoming film marks Shannen’s first acting role involving cancer.
“I didn’t have to give anybody advice because [of director Roxy Shih] and these beautiful ladies who did such a beautiful job with their own preparation process,” Shannen explained .
“We all showed up and honestly… this was truly an unbelievable pleasure to be a part of, and I was blown away every second that I got to work with these amazing ladies.”
We’re sending good vibes and love to Shannen.
h/t: People
