Danielle Fishel is opening up about her recent health scare and cancer diagnosis in hopes her story may inspire others to undergo regular check-ups.
During the Aug. 19 episode of Pod Meets World , the podcast she co-hosts with her fellow Boy Meets World castmates Rider Strong and Will Friedle , the 43-year-old actress revealed she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I was recently diagnosed with DCIS, which stands for ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a form of breast cancer,” Fishel began in Monday's episode.
"It is very, very, very early. It’s technically stage zero," she continued, "To be specific, I was diagnosed with High-Grade DCIS with microinvasion."
She then told listeners that she'd be having surgery to remove it before undergoing a series of follow-up treatments. "I've had to make a lot of decisions over the past couple of days," Fishel said.
Reassuring fans she would "be fine," Fishel said the only reason she's opening up about her health scare is so that others could learn from her experience.
Initially, she admitted that her "first instinct" was to "clam up" and only tell the people closest to her about her diagnosis, but she quickly realized, "The more people I talk to, the more people had their own experiences, either themselves being diagnosed with cancer or a family member who's been diagnosed with cancer, and the world of resources and experiences that can be shared by sharing it, and things that can be learned.”
"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," Fishel shared.
Acknowledging just how easy it is to let preventative and routine check-ups slip past you, Fishel pleaded with fans to hear her message.
"It would be so easy to say, 'I don't have time for that, I went to my mammogram last year, I was fine last year, I don't need to go again this year. What are the chances? It's gonna be fine, I was fine last year,' and I didn't, Instead, I was like, 'Yeah, it's time–gotta make that appointment and they found it so, so, so, early that I'm going to be fine," she said. "And so I wanna share this because I hope that it will encourage anyone to get in there. If it's time for your appointment, if you've never had an appointment before, get in there."
Fishel admits she "doesn't have all the answers" and she still has "some big decisions ahead," but "I'm gonna be fine," she emphasized.
Her co-hosts were also pretty confident in that fact, sharing they're willing to support her anyway she needs, as well as sharing their own stories highlighting the importance of scheduling routine check-ups.
"And for men, too, prostate exams and colonoscopies, these are all things that are super important, so don’t put them off," Friedle added.
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