'90210' Star Shannen Doherty Kept Stage 4 Cancer Diagnosis Quiet After Luke Perry's Death

Mega

Shannen Doherty revealed on Tuesday that her cancer is back. Sitting down with "Good Morning America" in an interview that aired this morning, the "Beverly Hills, 90210" actress spoke out about coming to terms with her stage 4 breast cancer diagnosis after being in remission back in 2017 and how she attempted to keep it quiet at first because she was in "shock" from losing her dear friend and "90210" star Luke Perry unexpectedly last year. The "Riverdale" actor died after suffering a stroke in March. He was only 52 years old.

Mega

“It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that I’m stage 4. So my cancer came back, and that’s why I’m here,” Shannen Doherty told "GMA." “I don’t think I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways.” The 48-year-old actress, known for her roles in "90210" and "Charmed," was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. She admitted that she struggled with the idea that her cancer had returned and sometimes wonders "Why me?” But that thought quickly goes away. “And then I go, well, ‘Why not me? Who else? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us do," she said.

Throughout her original diagnosis, Shannen Doherty often kept fans in the loop about her treatment. This time, the actress admits it was different, revealing one reason she wanted to keep her stage 4 cancer diagnosis private was because of Luke Perry's death. “It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first,” Shannen Doherty recalled. “It was really, like, shocking.” It was Luke Perry's unexpected passing and her cancer diagnosis that pushed her to sign on to do the reboot of "Beverly Hills, 90210."

Getty

“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 [as] people with stage 4 can work too,” she explained in the interview. “Our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do." As The Blast reported, just one day after Luke Perry's passing, Shannen Doherty opened up about the loss in an emotional post. Sharing her heartfelt tribute to her longtime friend, she struggled to get out the words. "Yesterday morning I got a phone call that devastated me," she began. "I’m struggling with this loss and am having a hard time with my thoughts." She continued, "My heart goes out to his family and friends who were blessed by his light in their (and mine) lives." Following his death, Shannen Doherty also honored him by guest-starring in his "Riverdale" tribute episode.