The Surprising Thing That Helped Shannen Doherty During Her Cancer Journey

Shannen Doherty has stage four breast cancer, and the diagnosis has allowed her to share her journey with fans while raising awareness about the disease. She stopped by "The Kelly Clarkson Show" on October 5 and revealed the surprising thing that helped her as she navigated life with cancer: social media.

"I think the people sharing their own cancer journeys on my Instagram did a lot for me," she said. "It was people going through it, who had gone through it, sort of letting me know that they were there for me. ... They were like, 'Listen we've been through this. You're gonna be fine, you're gonna get through this.' I think all that strength and that support really, really helped me and again it goes back to yes, social media can be a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful thing if used the right way."

Fans had a lot of love to give to Doherty in response to her touching revelation. One wrote, "Such an inspiration so strong and beautiful." Another added, "She's a good, strong woman. God bless her." This, of course, isn't the first time Doherty publicly spoke about her cancer diagnosis. Keep reading for more details about her years-long journey.

Shannen Doherty opened up to ABC News (via GoodMorningAmerica.com) in October about her treatments for her stage 4 breast cancer and it's clear she won't let it bring her down. "I'm going to keep fighting to stay alive," she told the outlet.

The "Beverly Hills, 90210" actor was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015. While she announced she was in remission in 2017, per People, the cancer returned in 2020. "I am on my first protocol, which is a very, very big thing," the actor explained on "Good Morning America" at the time. "So it's kind of like you just want to last on your protocols as long as possible so that you don't run out of protocols."

Doherty is committed to educating the public on breast cancer and her upcoming movie "List of a Lifetime" focuses on a woman diagnosed with the disease. "I feel like I have a responsibility in my more public life, which I separate from my acting life ... to talk about cancer and perhaps educate people more and let people know that people with stage 4 are very much alive and very active," she told People in September.