‘Boy Meets World’ actress Danielle Fishel is urging other women to get mammograms after revealing her breast cancer diagnosis.
The 43-year-old from Arizona said on her podcast she had ductal carcinoma in situ, or DCIS, a type of breast cancer that affects the milk ducts.
It is stage 0, has not spread to other areas of her body and is set to be treated via surgery — with Fishel thought to have a good prognosis.
But the mother-of-two says the cancer, which caused no symptoms, would not have been detected if she hadn’t gone to her mammogram appointment.
Fishel has been hosting Pod Meets World with Will Friedle and Rider Strong, her former Boy Meets World co-stars, since 2022; pictured 2022
The above graphic shows the difference between ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) and invasive breast cancer
Fishel said: ‘The only reason I caught this cancer when it is still stage 0 is because the day I got my text message that my yearly mammogram had come up, I made the appointment… and they found it so, so, so early that I’m going to be fine.
‘If it’s time for your appointment, if you’ve never had an appointment before, get in there. If you have to find out that you have cancer, find out when it’s at Stage 0, if possible.’
The US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) — which sets testing guidelines — says all women should get screened for breast cancer with a mammogram – imaging of the breasts – once every year from age 40, with the American Cancer Society saying they should be screened every year from the ages of 45 to 54 years.
Mammograms can help detect breast cancers in their early stages when they are more treatable.
If cancers are not detected until later, this raises the risk of them spreading to other areas of the body and becoming harder to treat.
Below, DailyMail.com reveals what DCIS is and how it is treated:
What is ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS)?
This is a type of breast cancer that emerges in the cells lining the milk ducts.
It can appear in either one milk duct, or several, and is caused by cells mutating and dividing uncontrollably.
It is normally diagnosed using a mammogram which picks up calcium deposits in the breasts’ milk ducts, indicating the cancer.
The cancer is called DCIS until it starts to spread, and situ refers to ‘stays in place,’ but if the disease does spread, it is called invasive breast cancer.
About 56,000 people are diagnosed with DCIS every year, on average at 54 years old.
It accounts for one in five breast cancer diagnoses.
What are the warning signs?
The Mayo Clinic says online: ‘DCIS doesn’t typically cause symptoms. It is usually only found on a mammogram.’
With a lack of symptoms, DCIS may be missed until it has spread to other areas of the body and become harder to treat.
In some cases, it may cause lumps or nipple discharge — prompting someone to visit a doctor.
But in the majority of cases, it can only be detected by a mammogram where it appears as a small cluster of white spots.
Are you likely to die from DCIS?
The American Cancer Society says nearly all women who are diagnosed with the disease can be cured.
This is because the cancer has not spread to other organs in the body, and can be treated via surgery to remove the disease.
Patients may have a lumpectomy with radiation therapy, where the cancerous area of the breast is removed and treated with radiation to treat any remaining cancerous cells.
In cases where it is in several milk ducts, patients may be offered a mastectomy — where the breasts are removed to stop the cancer.
Chemotherapy is not typically offered to patients after surgery.
About 98 percent of patients survive for more than five years after their diagnosis, statistics show.
Only about five to 15 percent of patients have their cancer recur following treatment.
If someone has a mastectomy, the risk of the cancer returning is less than two percent.
How do you prevent the disease?
Experts say the best way to stop DCIS progressing is to stay on top of your mammogram schedule.
One in eight women are diagnosed with breast cancer at some point in their lives, statistics show, with bi-annual check-ups helping to detect cancers early.
Dr Bonnie Sun, a breast surgeon at Johns Hopkins medicine in Maryland, says: ‘Get your mammograms on time.
‘Mammograms themselves do not prevent DCIS, but can catch it early. Early detection can mean a better outcome with less treatment.’