Shannen Doherty Says Cancer Has Spread to Her Brain: 'My Fear is Obvious'

The actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015.

Shannen Doherty made a heartbreaking reveal about her stage four cancer. On Tuesday, the Beverly Hills 90210 alum revealed that her breast cancer has spread to her brain.

In a post shared on Instagram, Doherty talks about the fear she faced as she was placed under a machine for radiation treatment.

"January 12, 2023. On January 5th, my ct scan showed Mets in my brain. Yesterdays video was showing the process of getting fitted for the mask which you wear during radiation to your brain. January 12, the first round of radiation took place," she wrote next to a video that shows her crying as she's inside the machine. 

"My fear is obvious. I am extremely claustrophobic and there was a lot going on in my life. I am fortunate as I have great doctors like Dr Amin Mirahdi and the amazing techs at cedar sinai. But that fear…. The turmoil….. the timing of it all…. This is what cancer can look like."

On Monday, the Charmed actress shared a video of the process of the medical professionals fitting her head for a mask that will hold it steady while she goes under the machine.

"January 9, 2023," she captioned the video.

In the clip, the doctor talks her through the process as she lays flat -- and gives the thumbs up to push through with the scan without a break.

Doherty has been open about her cancer journey. The actress was first diagnosed in 2015. The following year, she revealed that she underwent numerous rounds of chemotherapy before it went into remission in 2017.

In 2020, during an interview with Good Morning America, Doherty revealed that her cancer returned and was stage 4, which means that it spread from it's original location. In 2021, the Heathers actress spoke with ET and shared that while she was "doing well" at the time of her interview, she was optimistic about 2022.

"If I were dreaming of what would happen in 2022, I think lot more research and progression as far as finding the cure for cancer is my ultimate, ultimate dream because even though I am thriving and I’m doing well, I still have cancer and you don’t want stage four, but I have it and so I think in the back of my mind, this constant sort of OK, 'What can I do to help bring more awareness, what can I do the help raise money, what can I do to sort of push research for not just myself but for everybody else who is suffering from cancer?'" Doherty shared.

"Realistically, I hope that my health just continues to be stable and that I continue the relationships with my husband and my mom and my friends and and I hope their work continues to grow and it only gets better. ... I just I hope that next year, work-wise continues. I hope I continue to get these opportunities and that I continue to work with people that I've always admired and wanted to work with."

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