“Boy Meets World” star Danielle Fishel opened up on the latest episode of her “Pod Meets World” podcast about being diagnosed with breast cancer at 43 years old.
“I was recently diagnosed with DCIS, which stands for Ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a form of breast cancer,” she said at the start of the Aug. 19 episode. “It’s very very very early, it’s technically stage zero.”
Fishel went on to explain she was diagnosed with “high-grade DCIS with micro-invasion” and is planning to have surgery to remove it.
“I’ve had to make a lot of decisions over the last couple of days,” she said before adding that at first she only planned on telling her immediate family and friends but no one else. She thought she’d prefer to “suffer in silence” and “suck it up,” only telling others after she’d beat it. Fishel changed her mind after reading material from author Glennon Doyle, who argues that women need to help others in the beginning or during the “messy middle” of a battle as opposed to waiting until they’re out of the experience.
Fishel caught the DCIS so early because she made her annual mammogram appointment the day she received the reminder text that it was time to do so.
“They found it so, so, so early that I’m going to be fine. So, I want to share this because I hope that it will encourage anyone to get in there,” said Fishel. “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.”
She said she’s meeting with multiple doctors, including oncologists, radiation specialists and hormone therapists to plan the next steps, but reassured the listeners that she’s going to be fine. She said she knows this could affect her upcoming work; most recently, Fishel directed three epsidoes of NBC’s “Lopez vs. Lopez.”
Co-hosts Rider Strong and Will Friedle, who starred in “Boy Meets World” with Fishel, were two of the first people she told after her family.
“We love you, and you know that we’ve got you. Whatever you need, we’re here,” Friedle said. “You are going to be fine, and you might have some sucky days coming up, but we’re here for you.”