‘Boy Meets World’ star Danielle Fishel reveals breast cancer diagnosis
If you were a “Boy Meets World” fan, you might want to sit down for this news. The legendary star who played Topanga on the Nickelodeon series, Danielle Fishel, just revealed that she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer.
The news came during an episode of her Boy Meets World rewatch podcast, Pod Meets World, which she co-hosts with Rider Strong and Will Friedle, who played Shawn and Eric on the hit teen sitcom.
“I would like to share something with our listeners, something that Rider and Will were two of the first people I told the news to,” Fishel said during the Aug. 19 episode of the pod. “I was recently diagnosed with DCIS, which stands for ductal carcinoma in situ, which is a form of breast cancer. It is very, very, very early. It’s technically stage zero. To be specific, just because I like too much information all the time, I was diagnosed with high-grade DCIS with micro-invasion.”
She continued, “I’m going to be fine. I’m having surgery to remove it. I’m going to be on some follow-up treatment. I’ve had to make a lot of decisions over the last couple of days.”
Fishel shared that she wanted to open up publicly about her diagnosis in order to encourage more people to get mammograms and other cancer screenings when their appointments are due, something that may have been life-saving for her.
“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. I hope it will encourage anyone to get in there. If you have to find out you have cancer, find out at stage zero if possible.”
Fishel also opened up about the treatment path that might lie ahead for her.
“I have some big decisions ahead of me about what I want to do for treatment. I don’t have all the answers yet,” she explained. “I did want to let our dear listeners know. We’re going to try and have it not affect things, but [there are] possibilities we may have to put things on hold depending on what treatments I go through.”
Strong and Friedle both chimed in after Fishel’s announcement to show their support for their friend and co-host.
“It’s mindboggling. Right now, my wife and I know four people — four friends — who are dealing with breast cancer,” Strong said, adding that he encourages fans to “get checked.”
Friedle added that “men too” should schedule “prostate exams and colonoscopies…don’t put them off.”
“We’re so glad you didn’t [put it off] because you are going to be fine,” he added, speaking to Fishel. “You might have some sucky days, but we’re here for you.”
