'Boy Meets World' star Danielle Fishel diagnosed with breast cancer
Danielle Fishel has been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The "Boy Meets World" star, 43, shared the news on Monday's episode of "Pod Meets World," the podcast she hosts with Rider Strong and Will Friedle. She said she has been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ.
"It is very, very, very early," she said. "It's technically stage zero."
Fishel, who is best known for starring as Topanga Lawrence on "Boy Meets World," assured listeners she is going to "be fine" and will be undergoing surgery.
She also reflected that she always thought that if she was ever diagnosed with cancer, she would "suffer in silence" and not share the news publicly until she was on the other side of the health battle.
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Ultimately, though, she decided against this in hopes of raising awareness and encouraging other women to get their yearly mammograms.
"The only reason I caught this cancer when it is still stage zero is because the day I got my text message that my yearly mammogram had come up, I made the appointment," she said. "...They found it so, so, so early that I'm going to be fine. And so I want to share this because I hope that it will encourage anyone to get in there."
What is ductal carcinoma in situ?
According to the Mayo Clinic, ductal carcinoma in situ is an early form of breast cancer in which "the cancer cells are confined inside a milk duct in the breast" and have not spread into the breast tissue. It has a "low risk of spreading and becoming life-threatening," the clinic notes, but it "does require an evaluation and a consideration of treatment options." The Cleveland Clinic describes DCIS as highly treatable.
ESPN anchor Hannah Stormreveals breast cancer diagnosis
Fishel told fans she still needs to meet with doctors and make decisions about her treatment plan, and she said that Strong and Friedle were among the first people she told about her diagnosis.
ESPN anchor Hannah Storm previously shared in March that she was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ. Speaking with "Good Morning America," she said she underwent a lumpectomy after being diagnosed in January and is now cancer-free.
Task forcesays this is when women should begin breast cancer screening, get mammograms
"If you find out that you have (breast cancer) in the earliest form, it's so treatable," Storm told "GMA." "There's so much that you can do about it. But I know so many women who don't have their yearly mammograms. I know a lot of women who are afraid of it, or you know, we're busy, we have kids, we have jobs, maybe you're taking care of your parents. It's really hard to schedule that. Sometimes the last person that you want to take care of is yourself. But it's so important to advocate for your health."
Also in March, actress Olivia Munn shared that she had been battling "aggressive, fast moving cancer" in both breasts and received a double mastectomy. The "Newsroom" star told followers that she caught the cancer early because her OB/GYN decided to calculate her breast cancer risk assessment score.
"I'm lucky," Munn said in an Instagram post. "We caught it with enough time that I had options. I want the same for any woman who might have to face this one day."
Contributing: Scooby Axson