Danielle Fishel Is 'Thrilled to Be Alive' After Breast Cancer Surgery: 'Could Have Been Much Worse' (Exclusive)
“I have a lot of blessings, but I’m also leaving room for myself to mourn some of the things that I've lost,” she tells PEOPLE of her breast cancer journey
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Danielle Fishel was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer in July
She underwent a successful lumpectomy and has since had a clear mammogram
The star is using her breast cancer journey to encourage others of the importance of preventative care and staying on top of routine screenings
Danielle Fishel is “thrilled to be alive” as she recovers from surgery to treat her breast cancer.
The actress — best known for her role in the ’90s sitcom Boy Meets World and its sequel spin-off Girl Meets World — opened up to PEOPLE about learning of her diagnosis on July 22 following a routine mammogram.
At the time, the 43-year-old was told she had an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which is a non-invasive, stage zero cancer trapped inside the milk ducts.
“I was feeling healthy, I was looking healthy. But I went in for my mammogram and they said it looked suspicious and the results are abnormal,” she tells PEOPLE. “I was not expecting in any way that it was going to find anything. It was really shocking.”
Weeks later, Fishel underwent a lumpectomy in August and a margin revision surgery in September. She initially considered a double mastectomy, but several doctors confirmed that because the disease was caught so early, a lumpectomy was the best route “to get back to my normal life as quickly as possible.”
Related: Danielle Fishel of Boy Meets World Reveals She Has Early Stage Breast Cancer at 43
Julian Martin
Following the second surgery last month, Fishel’s scans came back clear and she was back to work eight days later.
“That pathology came back with no cancer found. I've since had a clear mammogram,” she shares. “I'm feeling really well. I'm just grateful that the surgery part is behind me.”
“Now moving forward, I still have to make a decision about radiation and I will most likely be starting hormone therapy,” she adds.
Fishel has since had some lingering effects — two incisions that she says are painful and uncomfortable. “The lymph node removal has been the longest most difficult recovery,” she notes. The Pod Meets World podcast host admits that she’s also “relearning how to look at myself” as she mourns her pre-cancer body and life.
“I notice a difference in the way I physically look. Aside from just two incisions, I can tell that I've had tissue removed from my breast,” she says. I'm not thrilled about it, but I am thrilled to be alive and I'm thrilled that my cancer was found early.”
“So I have a lot of blessings, but I’m also leaving room and space for myself to mourn some of the things that I've lost.”
Related: Stars Who Have Had Breast Cancer and Shared Their Stories
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Looking back on the past few months, Fishel admits that this year, “it would’ve been so much easier to put off my mammogram” because she was so busy with work and her two children — sons Adler and Keaton, who she shares with husband Jensen Karp.
“Finding time for health screenings is not always easy, but it's kind of like one of our family values that we don't put those things off. So I made the appointment,” she says.
Shortly after her diagnosis, Fishel came across Aflac's Wellness Matters Survey, which recently found that 77% of Americans, including 84% of millennials, have put off an important medical appointment.
Teaming up with the company, the former child star says she feels a responsibility to use her platform to help encourage others to stay on top of their health and understand the importance of preventive care.
“When I was trying to make the decision about whether or not I wanted to talk about it publicly, my first instinct was to just keep it quiet, not tell anybody and just get through it. Suffer through it alone,” she admits.
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“But it was like, okay, I have the ability to go out there and tell a large amount of people that had it not been for me being so on top of my yearly checkup, I may not have found this,” she tells PEOPLE. “Had I said, ‘I did my mammogram last year, I was totally fine. What are the odds that in one year I'm going to have anything? I'll be fine. I'll put it off,’ it could have been much worse for me.”
Fishel says she has no problem nagging her loved ones — and even strangers — to get their routine screenings done.
“No one wants to feel annoying. No one wants to feel like a nag. But truly being able to say to your friends and family, ‘I love you, your wellness matters. I want you to be healthy. Have you made your appointments?’ actually makes a difference.”
“So, even if you don't know me personally, consider me like a friend or a family member gently reminding you to take your health into your own hands,” Fishel says.
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