Beverly Hills 90210 veteran, Shannen Doherty, recently announced that her breast cancer has returned. For a year, she was secretly battling stage 4 metastatic breast cancer. Now that the public is aware of what she's going through, fans are offering support.

The 48-year-old actress was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 but went into remission in 2017. Now, years later, she is faced with an even tougher battle. Though she's going through a hard time right now, one thing that we know for sure is that Shannen Doherty is a fighter.

She's so much more than her cancer and she's impacted us in so many ways - from her acting to her activism.

15 She's Had A Long Career

Shannen has been in the industry for over 30 years. Though she became a worldwide sensation in 1990, due to the series, Beverly Hills 90210, Shannen was a child actress. She appeared in different TV shows throughout the 80s, like Little House on the Prairie, Our House, Magnum P.I., and Airwolf.

She also appeared in movies, such as Girls Just Want to Have Fun and Heathers. Though she acted in other projects in the 90s, she's best known for playing Brenda Walsh in Beverly Hills 90210...and then Prue Halliwell in Charmed.

She's continued to act in movies and shows ever since, proving that when you're doing what you love, you can do it for a long time.

14 Her Acting Ability Is Inspiring

When a person has been acting for years, it's no surprise that they're a pro at it! Speaking about Shannen in The Woman Of Charmed documentary, her former co-star, Hollie Marie Combs, said: "She's got a little bit of a photographic memory, which is really annoying because she can come in that morning and learn her lines in rehearsal and know them immediately. She has moments where she can pull out tears like it's nothing."

13 She Inspires Us To Be Honest And Self-Reflective

Throughout her younger years, Shannon was portrayed as a 'Hollywood bad girl'. Whether that's true or not, she inspires us to be self-reflective.

Speaking to Fox News, she said: "What people always have to remember is that you're young and you make these mistakes and it's kinda the same things that people do when they're off at college and they go to frat parties and they're joining sororities. Those mistakes are what eventually makes you the person you are later in life. As long as you're learning from your mistakes."

12 She Gives Awesome Advice

In a Q & A session, Shannon was asked for some acting tips for upcoming actors, and she said, "Do it for the right reasons. Don't do it because you think you're gonna get famous. Don't do it because you think you're gonna make a lot of money. Those are definitely not the reasons to become an actor because there's so few actors who actually achieve star status."

11 She's Down To Earth

Shannen may have her name in Hollywood lights, but she has managed to stay humble. She doesn't think too highly of herself and she treats everyone with respect. During a Q & A session, she was seen making jokes with the audience. She was definitely very engaged when it came to her conversations with people in the audience.

10 Even If She's In The Minority, She Always Boldly Stands By What She Believes

Being a Republican among a lot of liberal celebrities is not the easiest thing in today's society. With many celebrities speaking about their democratic beliefs, we rarely see Republicans in the Hollywood circle.

Despite other people's opinions, Shannen boldly stands by her Republican views, but still respects the differing views and values that others hold.

9 She's An Animal Activist

Shannen Doherty is a great advocate for protecting the rights of animals. Speaking in a Q & A session, she said, "We're sort of taking a lot of steps as far as animal welfare goes right now in the US. A lot of the fashion designers are now saying 'yeah we don't need to use fur, we don't need to use alligator'."

"Hopefully Hermes people stop thinking that there's something really interesting about a Hermes Birkin bag. It's really not. What's interesting about it, is how cruel it is, how they actually make that bag."

8 She's Passionate About Education

Education is important to Shannen! She has been a spokesperson for Education Connection, which is a service that helps people to achieve their educational ambitions, via online colleges and programs.

In 2012, she began getting an online degree in Liberal Arts. She did this for herself and her late father, as it was something they both wanted to do together before he passed away.

7 She Did Dancing With the Stars For Her Dad Before He Passed Away

In 2010, Shannen took part in the 10th season of Dancing With The Stars, for her father. Speaking on Lopez Tonight, she said, "My Dad has been sick for a really long time. He's had 9 strokes and like 8 heart attacks. This past Christmas, he had his tenth stroke but it was a massive massive stroke. It left him with no speech and no mobility and depressed. He was in hospital for a month and he didn't want to try."

"People give up after a certain period of time. He loves Dancing With The Stars and I went to the hospital and I thought it was just gonna make him laugh. I said 'You know Dad I got offered Dancing With The Stars, it's that time of year.' and his face lit up. He was like 'Yeah, yeah, yeah!' and I was like, 'No no no no no no. You're not making me do this!"

"And I struck a deal with him and the deal was, that, if he gets out of that bed, and he tries to take 5 steps down the corridor of the hospital, if he tries to learn a new word every single day, then I would face my fear of a live audience and I would do the show for him."

6 She Shared Her First Breast Cancer Battle To Help Other Women

During her first breast cancer diagnosis in 2015, Shannen documented her experiences, including her hair loss. She did this to encourage other women going through breast cancer, too. Not only did this help others to know that they're not alone, it helped Shannen find strength in her own journey.