Actress Danielle Fishel opens up about her recent breast cancer diagnosis.
The “Boy Meets World” star revealed on Monday’s episode of her “Pod Meets World” podcast that doctors told her she had DCIS, explaining that it “stands for ductal carcinoma in situ” and is considered “a form of breast cancer.”
She told the co-hosts, former co-stars Will Friedle and Rider Strong, that “it’s very, very, very early. Technically, it’s stage zero.”
Fishel, who starred as Topanga Lawrence on the hit ABC teen sitcom from 1993 to 2000, continued: “To be precise, simply because I like to have too much information all the time, I was diagnosed with high-grade DCIS with microinvasion.”
According to the American Cancer Society, about 1 in 5 new breast cancer diagnoses will be DCIS, and nearly all women with DCIS can be cured.
The 43-year-old mother of two optimistically said she was “doing well” and shared her medical plans.
“I’m going to have surgery to remove it,” Fishel said. “I’m going to have follow-up treatment. I’ve had to make a lot of decisions in the last few days.”
She hopes her decision to go public with her diagnosis will motivate others to get regular checkups.
“The only reason I found out about this cancer when it was still stage zero is because the day I got a message that my annual mammogram was scheduled, I made an appointment,” Fishel says. “They found it so early that I’m doing great. So I want to share this because I hope it encourages everyone to make an appointment. If it’s time to make an appointment, if you’ve never had one before, go for it.”
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