"Learning from the experiences of others鈥 has motivated Danielle Fishel go public with her diagnosis of breast cancer.
The 鈥淏oy Meets World鈥 star shared the news on , which she cohosts with her former costars Will Friedle and Rider Strong.
鈥淚 was recently diagnosed with DCIS, which stands for ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a form of breast cancer,鈥 she revealed at the beginning of the podcast. 鈥淚t is very, very, very early. It鈥檚 technically stage zero.鈥
Fishel, 43, shot to fame as a youth playing Topanga Lawrence on the hit 鈥90s sitcom. She explained that she 鈥渨as diagnosed with high-grade DCIS with micro-invasion.鈥
, DCIS stands for 鈥渄uctal carcinoma in situ and 鈥渋s breast cancer at the earliest stage.鈥
鈥淒CIS isn鈥檛 life-threatening, but if you鈥檙e diagnosed with DCIS, you have a higher risk of developing invasive breast cancer later in life,鈥 the site states. 鈥淎bout 20% to 25% of new breast cancers diagnosed in the United States are DCIS.鈥
Fishel sounded upbeat and positive about her diagnosis.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to be fine. I鈥檓 having surgery to remove it,鈥 she said. 鈥滻鈥檓 going to be on some follow-up treatment. I鈥檝e had to make a lot of decisions over the last couple of days.鈥
She also said she had always envisioned that should she get such news, she would keep it private. But Fishel cited author Glennon Doyle, paraphrasing 鈥渢he place you have the most to learn from is at the very beginning of a story, or in the very messy middle of a story鈥 and she decided to share her experience.
Fishel also said she credits acting quickly with her early diagnosis.
鈥淭he 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,鈥 she said.
Fishel reprised her role in 鈥淕irl Meets World,鈥 a spinoff which ran from 2014 to 2017. She is married to producer Jensen Karp and is a mother of two.