Why Beverley Hills 90210 star Shannen Doherty kept her cancer diagnosis a secret

The actress revealed she has stage 4 breast cancer on Good Morning America. Photo / Getty Images

Shannen Doherty wanted to keep her cancer diagnosis a secret because she didn't want people to treat her like "a dead man walking".

The 48-year-old actress revealed this week she has been diagnosed with stage four breast cancer after announcing in 2017 she was in remission, and has said she initially wanted to keep the news to herself, as she didn't want people to treat her differently.

She said: "[People] look at you like you're dead man walking, basically, and that they need to say their goodbyes to you.

"Work dries up. I enjoy working, and working gives me just another reason to wake up every morning. It's another reason to fight to stay alive."

The Heathers star had previously been open about her cancer journey on social media, but doesn't post as much any more because she finds it "hard" to be a "beacon of light" for other sufferers.

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Thank you to these three who helped me thru an impossibly tough day and continue to be there every minute supporting and loving me. @kurtiswarienko was in Mexico working but knew he left me in good hands. @annemkortright @chriscortazzo #mamarosa I love you. #mycrew #thisisasquad

A post shared by ShannenDoherty (@theshando) on Jul 25, 2016 at 10:26am PDT

She added: "I don't know. I don't post a lot anymore, and I also don't want to be a bummer. And yes, I want to positive, and yes, I want to be a beacon light for other people - or at least somebody that people can relate to and [with whom they can] have an honest conversation and talk about how hard it is. I do want to be raw and honest about it."

And Shannen says she "always expected" her cancer to come back eventually, but admits a small part of her was "convinced" she had "beaten" the illness for good.

Speaking in the second part of her interview with ABC News - which aired on Wednesday - she said: "In the back of your head, you are always expecting that this is gonna happen.

Shannen Doherty revealed her heartbreaking diagnosis in an exclusive television interview. Photo / ABC News

But I definitely also, in another way, also convinced myself that I had beaten it. I was the true warrior, I was the true survivor."

The first part of Shannen's interview aired on Tuesday, and saw the Beverly Hills, 90210 star reveal the sad news of her diagnosis.

She said: "It's going to come out in a matter of days or a week that - I'm stage four. So my cancer came back. And that's why I'm here.

"I don't think I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways.

"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. But I would say that my first reaction is always concern about how - how am I going to tell my mom, my husband."