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'I don't want to die.' Shannen Doherty has shared a cancer update.

Shannen Doherty has given an update on her ongoing cancer battle. After announcing she was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer in February 2020, the 90210 actor, 52, has announced she wants to "embrace life", after sharing that her cancer has now spread to her bones. 

"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," she told PEOPLE this week. "I'm just not — I’m not done... I don't want to die."

Watch: Shannen Doherty announce she has stage 4 breast cancer. Post continues after video.


Video via ABC News.

Doherty was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

"There was a lump, and I had a mammogram and then a biopsy," she told Health Magazine in February 2019. "When I got the results, I was in the car with my mum and I just knew. The longer I sat, the more it started sinking in. Then I started crying. I called my husband and told him. And from there, I just put together a team." 

After two years of treatment, Doherty announced she was in remission. But in February 2020, the actress revealed the cancer had returned, and this time, it had progressed to stage 4. 

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"It’s going to come out in a matter of days or a week that – I'm stage IV. So my cancer came back. And that's why I'm here," she told Good Morning America at the time. "I don't think I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."

Image: Instagram @theshando.

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The news of her cancer battle came just four months after the death of her Beverly Hills, 90210 co-star Luke Perry. He had passed away after a massive stroke.

"It’s so weird for me to be diagnosed and then somebody who was, you know, seemingly healthy to go first," she said. "It was really, like, shocking. And the least I could do to honour him was to do [reboot BH90210]... 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 [and see] other people with stage 4 can work too'.

"Like, you know, our life doesn't end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do."

By her side during this time was her husband of 11 years, photographer Kurt Iswarienko.

"My marriage was always strong, but [the cancer battle] has made my marriage a thousand times stronger," the actor told ET in 2016. "He’s never missed a chemo. He’s never missed a sick day."

The pair began dating in 2008 before marrying in 2011.

Image: Instagram/@theshando

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In April 2023, Doherty's lawyers filed for divorce. 

"Divorce is the last thing Shannen wanted. Unfortunately, she felt she was left with no other option," Doherty’s rep told People, claiming that Iswarienko’s agent was "intimately involved" in their split. 

Nonetheless, the actor has been outspoken in her praise for Iswarienko, who she says was her strength and support while she battled cancer. 

In August 2016, Doherty recalled the moment she told her husband about her diagnosis for the first time, sharing that he was waiting in the driveway for her after telling him the news over the phone. 

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"[He] hugged me and said, 'We are going to get through this. You are going to be OK. We are going to get through this, you’re strong and you’re powerful and you’re not going anywhere,'" she told ET.  "'You have so much to do in your life. We are going to get through it as a family.'"

With the time she has left, Doherty is raising awareness and funds for cancer research. She also hopes to get into clinical trials as new treatments continue to develop, but she's most driven by her desire to continue working. 

"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 told PEOPLE earlier this week. "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."

Her legacy and what she will leave behind isn't at all what she's focussing on either. Instead, she's choosing to live in the moment.

"My greatest memory is yet to come," she continued. "I pray. I wake up and go to bed thanking God, praying for the things that matter to me without asking for too much. It connects me to a higher power and spirituality. My faith is my mantra.'"

This story was originally republished on June 8, 2023 and has since been updated with new information. 

Feature image: Instagram/@theshando