AceShowbiz - Shannen Doherty has gotten real about her cancer journey. The former "Beverly Hills, 90210" star, who has been battling stage 4 cancer for years, shared some "truthful" pictures of herself on Thursday, October 7 as she encouraged other women to get mammograms.

Taking to Instagram, the 50-year-old posted a photo of her with a bloodied tissue stuck up her nostril. In the second snap, she's seen sporting Cookie Monster pajamas and a sleep mask. "For breast cancer awareness month, I'd like to share more of my own personal journey from my first diagnosis to my second. Is it all pretty? NO but it's truthful and my hope in sharing is that we all become more educated, more familiar with what cancer looks like," she began her caption.

"I hope I encourage people to get mammograms, to get regular checkups, to cut thru the fear and face whatever might be in front of you," the actress added. "In 2015 I got diagnosed with breast cancer. I had a mastectomy and did chemo and radiation. I had many nose bleeds from the chemo. Not sure if any of you experienced this."

Noting that she was often "beyond tired" of her treatment, Shannen said she "cheered" herself up by putting on the "funny pajamas." She went on to explain, "Did they actually cheer me up? Yes!! Lol. I looked ridiculous and in that ridiculousness, I was able to laugh at myself. Finding humor helped get me thru what seemed impossible. I hope we all find humor in the impossible. #breastcancerawareness."

On the same day, Shannen credited her social media followers for giving her strength amid her serious health issue. When appearing on "The Kelly Clarkson Show", she told host Kelly Clarkson, "I think the people sharing their own cancer journeys on my Instagram did a lot for me."

"[People writing], 'Hey, I posted a photo during chemo (when) I got really sick... We've been through this, you're going to be fine. You're going to get though this.' And that strength and support really helped me," the "90210" alum elaborated further. "Social media can be a beautiful, beautiful thing if used the right way."

Shannen was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2015 and announced she was in remission two years later. In February 2020, however, she divulged that she has been fighting stage 4 cancer privately for a year. When breaking the news to "Good Morning America", she admitted, "I don't think that I've processed it. It's a bitter pill to swallow in a lot of ways."