The "Beverly Hills, 90210" alum confirmed in a statement to People on Wednesday that she is undergoing treatment for the disease.
The actress is suing the firm Tanner, Mainstain, Glynn & Johnson and its former partner Steven D. Blatt for breach of contract, negligence, breach of fiduciary duty and several other issues, seeking compensatory and/or restitutionary damages.
In the lawsuit, Doherty calls the situation "a case about crooked business managers" and accuses them of "fleecing" celebrities. The actress mainly accuses the firm -- which got 5% of her income to manage her finances and other endeavors -- of failing to pay her Screen Actors Guild medical insurance premiums for the 2014 coverage year, which resulted in her coverage being canceled, according to the court documents posted online by the Hollywood Reporter.
"In November 2013, SAG sent the premium invoice to Tanner Mainstain for Plaintiff's medical insurance coverage for the year 2014," the documents said. "However, Defendants ignored it, failed to pay it (without informing Plaintiff) and then promptly terminated their relationship with [Doherty] effective February 7, 2014."
Doherty had been repped by the firm since July 2009, the documents said.
The 44-year-old says in the suit that she couldn't re-enroll in insurance benefits until 2015 and was unable to see a doctor during the lapse. By March 2015, doctors said she had "invasive breast cancer metastatic to at least one lymph node" and that the cancer spread while she was uninsured in 2014, the suit said.
The former "Charmed" star claims in the suit that now she'll probably have to get a mastectomy and undergo chemotherapy, which she potentially could have avoided had the cancer been caught sooner.
The complaint says that she has incurred significant medical and treatment expenses and has been unable to work since being diagnosed. The spread of the cancer has allegedly also caused her "severe emotional distress" that could have been avoided had the defendants "fulfilled their obligations and paid Plaintiff's medical insurance premiums."
The actress made other allegations about shady business transactions that she came across when she reviewed her accounting records, accusing the firm of failing to pay owed taxes and diverting the funds from another insurance settlement to its own pockets.
In a response to TMZ, the firm said that while saddened to hear of Doherty's diagnosis, the claim that it had "caused her to be uninsured, prevented her from seeking medical care, or somehow contributed to her cancer is patently false."
Doherty's rep did not immediately respond to The Times' request for comment.
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