It's A Bitter Pill To Swallow

Beverly Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty is devastated her breast cancer has returned

- Sandy Cook

'I’M PETRIFIED.”

That’s how she feels about the gruelling road ahead. Chemotherapy, radiation, surgery – all are on the cards now her breast cancer is back.

And it’s back with a vengeance. Actress Shannen Doherty was diagnosed with the disease back in 2015 and announced in 2017 that she was in remission and joyously declared she was cancer-free.

But the 48-year-old star of Beverly Hills 90210 and Charmed recently revealed she has stage 4 breast cancer, meaning the disease has metastasised or spread to other parts of her body.

Shannen opened up about her diagnosis on ABC News, telling the American news channel that it would “come out in a matter of days or a week that I’m stage 4.

“I don’t think I’ve processed it,” she said, choking back tears. “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? Who else besides me deserves this?’ None of us does.”

The actress has been privately bearing the burden for months but decided to tell the world now because of an ongoing fight she’s having with her insurance company over damage caused to her California home by wildfires in 2018.

Shannen was paid out more than $1 million (R14,5m) but sued for extra compensation. The case is now ready to go to trial and her legal counsel told her that details of her health condition would be made public in court documents.

“I’d rather people hear it from me,” Shannen said. “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.”