In 2020, five years after going into remission, Shannen revealed her breast cancer had returned and had progressed to stage four.
Speaking on ABC's Good Morning America at the time, the actor broke down while discussing her diagnosis, admitting it's a "hard pill to swallow".
“It’s going to come out in a matter of days or weeks that I am stage four, my cancer came back and that’s why I am here. 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 do. I don’t think I’ve processed it."
As for why she decided to announce the news so unexpectedly, the Charmed actress said her health condition would most likely come out in court, as she was in the process of suing insurance giant State Farm after her home was severely damaged in a 2018 fire.
“I’d rather people hear it from me. I don’t want it to be twisted. I don’t want it to be a court."
Opting to keep her diagnosis private in the early days of her cancer journey, Shannen shared that she wanted to place her full attention on her return to 90210 to uphold the legacy of her late co-star Luke Perry.
“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 [as] people with stage 4 can work too,” she explained in the ABC News interview.
She added: “Our life doesn’t end the minute we get that diagnosis. We still have some living to do.”
Shannen said she will continue to use her platform to raise awareness and inspire others who are experiencing similar difficulties.
“I think the thing I want to do the most right now is I want to make an impact,” she said. “I want to be remembered for something bigger than just me."
The year prior, Shannen opened up to Health magazine about how she deals with the worrying diagnosis, admitting her cancer battle forced her to become strong and independent in ways she'd never felt before.
“I felt more feminine and vulnerable than I’ve felt in my entire life,” she said at the time. “I was always used to being the strong one, and during that time period, every wall I’d built up in my life came down.”
“I also had a lot more time to look at myself and say, ‘I’m a pretty okay person’ and cut myself some slack. I’ve had a lot of those epiphanies. It’s okay to stumble.”