Shannen Doherty has given an update on her fight with stage 4 cancer.
Taking to her Instagram on Sunday, the “Beverly Hills, 90210” star also expressed gratitude for her close friends who are helping her “push through.”
Doherty, who revealed in February her breast cancer had returned, shared a photo with her friends Anne Marie Kortright and Kiara Stokes, along with some healthy meals she had whipped up in the kitchen.
“After a year of dealing with cancer coming back and other stresses, I’m back at it,” the 48-year-old actress began in the caption. “Taking care of myself and embracing every day. It’s not always easy. I have days I’m depressed or just plain lazy. But I push thru with the help of friends.”
“@annemkortright has been relentless in getting me to hike and learning new ways to cook that feed my soul as well as my tummy but in a very healthy way,” she continued. “She along with @cheforen @maliburadkitchen have made cooking healthy fun and sustainable.”
“If that wasn’t enough…. Annemarie brought in @kirastokesfit to kick my butt yesterday!” Doherty concluded. “It’s been a productive great week. I feel better. My skin is alive and so am I.”
In an emotional interview with “Good Morning America” on World Cancer Day last month, Doherty revealed her breast cancer had come back. The “Charmed” star was first diagnosed with the disease in March 2015, but after years of treatment, she entered remission.
When asked why she chose to share the news of her new diagnosis now, she explained, “It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that — I’m stage four. So my cancer came back,” she said through tears, “and that’s why I’m here.”
Having told only her immediate family and one “BH 90210” cast member (Brian Austin Green), Doherty has known about the diagnoses for about a year. Though she was open about her first battle with the disease, she had wanted to keep this one more private.
“I don’t think that I’ve processed it. It’s a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways,” she said. “There were definitely 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. And I would say that my first reaction is always concern about how am I going to tell my mom, my husband.”
“I mean, I rather people hear it from me. I don’t want it to be twisted. I don’t want it to be a court document,” she explained. “I want it to be real and authentic, and I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me.”
Doherty admitted to ABC’s Amy Robach she’s “petrified.”
“My mom is a ridiculously strong, courageous human being. So is my husband,” she said, stopping to cry, “but I worry about him.”
“I think the thing I wanna do the most right now is I wanna make an impact,” she added. “And I can make an impact through this lawsuit and by saying, ‘Enough is enough with big business and corporations running the little person over. It’s not fair, and I’m taking a stand for all of us.’ But it’s more about how I wanna be remembered for something bigger than just me.”
According to Healthline, stage 4 breast cancer — also called metastatic or advanced breast cancer — is considered the “most serious” and “life threatening.” At this stage, cancer cells have spread to other parts of the body like the lymphatic system and may affect the lungs, bones, liver, brain or other organs.
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