Shannen Doherty Shares Major Update Amid Battle With Stage 4 Cancer

Former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Shannen Doherty shared a positive update on her ongoing battle with stage 4 cancer. In early February, Doherty revealed her cancer returned and is now stage four. In her latest uplifting social media post, Doherty said she was back to embracing life and was feeling “better.”

On Saturday, Doherty took to Instagram to share a photo with her friends, trainer Kira Stokes and model Anne Marie Kortright, as well as pictures of the healthy meals she has been enjoying.

“After a year of dealing with cancer coming back and other stresses, I’m back at it,” Doherty wrote. “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. [Kortright] 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 along with [Chef Oren Zroya and Malibu Rad Kitchen] have made cooking healthy fun and sustainable.”

“If that wasn’t enough…. Anne Marie brought in [Stokes] to kick my butt yesterday!” Doherty added. “It’s been a productive great week. I feel better. My skin is alive and so am I.”

In a Feb. 4 interview with ABC News‘ Amy Robach, Doherty revealed she is battling stage 4 cancer. She was diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2015, and it spread to her lymph nodes. Following difficult treatments that included a single mastectomy, chemotherapy and radiotherapy, she announced in April 2017 that the cancer went into remission. But Doherty told Robach the cancer returned a year ago. She was given the diagnosis just after the death of 90210 co-star Luke Perry, who died after a massive stroke in March 2019.

“I don’t think that I’ve processed it,” Doherty said of the diagnosis. “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 besides me deserves this?’ None of us do.”

“I would say that my first reaction is always concern about how I’m going to tell my mom, my husband,” she continued.

Doherty came forward with the diagnosis now so fans would learn of it before it leaked out through her ongoing legal battle with State Farm. The diagnosis was mentioned in legal documents that became public, as Doherty predicted.

“I’d rather people hear it from me,” she told Robach. “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 and I want to control the narrative. I want people to know from me.”

The opening line of the complaint reportedly reads “Plaintiff Shannen Doherty is dying of stage 4 terminal cancer” and notes she is unable to live “her remaining years peacefully in her home,” which was damaged in the 2018 Woolsey Fire.

Doherty is suing the insurance company because she claims she was paid out of pocket for losses that should have been covered by her policy. State Farm issued a statement to ABC News, claiming they have followed through with her policy.

“We empathize with Ms. Doherty’s health issues and wish her a full recovery,” the company said. “We strongly believe we have upheld our commitment to our customer and have paid what we owe not his claim.”

Meanwhile, Doherty has continued to share updates on her Instagram page. In a Feb. 11 post, she thanked fans for their love and support.

“I want to thank all of you for your love, prayers and support,” she wrote. “It’s an odd time right now and I find my feet not completely underneath me. 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. 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.”

Doherty played Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills, 90210 and appeared in last summer’s unique miniseries BH90210, which centered on the cast playing themselves as they prepared for a planned reboot. Doherty almost did not appear in the show, but agreed to as a way to honor Perry.

Photo credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Hallmark Channel