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Actress Shannen Doherty reveals heartbreaking cancer news

Shannen Doherty shared heartbreaking news about her fight with cancer in an interview with PEOPLE. The actress said the stage 4 breast cancer has spread to her bones.

Doherty, 52, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. After a mastectomy and chemotherapy, she went into remission.


But the cancer returned in 2019. Doherty announced her diagnosis of metastatic stage 4 cancer in 2020.

Earlier this year, she said the cancer had spread to her brain. A tumor on her brain was removed.

The “Beverly Hills 90210” and “Charmed” star said she’s still undergoing treatment.

“I don’t want to die,” she said in a recent interview with PEOPLE. “I’m not done with living. I’m not done with loving. I’m not done with creating. I’m not done with hopefully changing things for the better. I’m just not — I’m not done.”

She continued, “When you ask yourself, ‘Why me? Why did I get cancer?’ and then ‘Why did my cancer come back? Why am I stage 4?’ That leads you to look for the bigger purpose in life.”

Doherty told PEOPLE she hopes to get into clinical trials and would like to return to work.

“People just assume that it means you can’t walk, you can’t eat, you can’t work. They put you out to pasture at a very early age — ‘You’re done, you’re retired.’ And we’re not,” she said in the interview. “We’re vibrant, and we have such a different outlook on life. We are people who want to work and embrace life and keep moving forward.”

Doherty’s acting credits date back to 1981. Her first big role was as Jenny Wilder on “Little House on the Prairie.”

Now, the actress is launching a memoir-style podcast, “Let’s Be Clear with Shannen Doherty.” It premieres Dec. 6 on iHeartRadio.