Jason Priestly Supports TV Twin, Shannen Doherty, as She Battles Stage 4 Breast Cancer: ‘She's Always Been a Fighter’

Priestly said in an interview with Studio 10 that the actress was in "pretty good spirits" when he last spoke to her. "Shannen is a real tough girl," said Priestly. "Shannen's a fighter, and she's always been a fighter, and I know she'll continue to fight as hard as she can."

Earlier this year, when Doherty announced the return of her cancer, she told Good Morning America how former costar Brian Austin Green also helped her with her diagnosis. Support has come from all angles for the beloved Doherty.

Related: Shannen Doherty, 49, Fighting Stage 4 Breast Cancer, Serves Wine Upside Down To Best Friend Sarah Michelle Gellar

Priestly told People magazine, "Shannen was a big part of my life…[she] and I will always have a bond that is very meaningful I'm very heartbroken about the news," he said. Priestly reached out to Doherty in February after she announced that the cancer was back. She called the cancer coming back "a bitter pill to swallow….I'm grappling."

Doherty's Breast Cancer Explained

The actress was first diagnosed with cancer in 2015. And three years after she went into remission, the cancer resurfaced, which she shared in February.

Related: 'You All Help Lift Me' Shannen Doherty Posts Emotional Message of Gratitude After Loving Response to Her Breast Cancer Diagnosis

Doherty has metastatic breast cancer, which is breast cancer that has spread beyond the breast and the lymph nodes and infected other parts of the body (sometimes the bones, the lungs, the liver, or the brain). Although it may affect other parts of the body, metastatic breast cancer is treated as breast cancer.

Metastatic Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Treatments To Consider

Nearly 30% of women who receive an early-stage breast cancer diagnosis will develop metastatic disease. Doherty's treatments for the second round of her cancer have included chemo pills, hormone blockers, and a monthly shot to try to prevent fractures in the bones, she told Good Morning America earlier this year.

Inspiring Immunotherapy Treatments

With metastatic breast cancer, the battle can be a long, hard road, as Doherty shows. Inspiration can be found in the stories of people like Judy Perkins. Perkins is the first person ever to be declared free of metastatic breast cancer following immunotherapy. Perkins has been called an "exceptional responder," thanks to the way her body responded to the cancer therapy.

Related: An Immunotherapy Breakthrough: The Judy Perkins Story

Perkins underwent an immunotherapy trial at the National Cancer Institute in 2015 and has been cancer-free since 2016. The trial involved removing some of her immune cells, harvesting them in a lab, and then inputting them back into Perkins's body to attack the cancerous tumors.

Breast cancer fighters like Doherty may find hope in news like this  people are surviving this disease  and with more significant cancer research, trials, and funding, there may be even more doses of hope to come.

The First Immunotherapy Approved For Breast Cancer Hope For Triple Negative Breast Cancer

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