One of the most beloved actresses of the 1990s is sharing a harrowing health update in 2024.
Actress Danielle Fishel, perhaps best known for portraying Topanga Lawrence in the smash-hit 1990s sitcom “Boy Meets World,” recently announced that she has a form of breast cancer.
Speaking on the Sunday episode of “Pod Meets World” — a podcast Fishel co-hosts with fellow “Boy Meets World” alum Rider Strong and Will Friedle — the actress opened up about the “stage zero” cancer.
“So I would like to share something with our listeners,” Fishel began right out of the gate, “something that Rider and Will were actually two of the first people I told the news to.
“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.”
Fishel would go on to explain that she was getting surgery to remove it and would need some follow-up treatments, but would otherwise be fine.
Do you get regular cancer screenings?
Yes: 59% (19 Votes)
No: 41% (13 Votes)
In fact, the actress credited a random reminder to get her mammogram scheduled as the reason she was able to catch the cancer in such a early stage. She warned listeners about the importance of even the most mundane check-ups.
That being said, she also did acknowledge that there would be “big decisions ahead.”
(Per the National Cancer Institute, Fishel’s “high-grade” DCIS “tends to grow more quickly” and “is more likely to come back or become invasive breast cancer and spread to other tissues.”)
Fishel would further go on to explain that the main reason she was sharing this update wasn’t for anything resembling pity, but to just help spread awareness and empathy.
“For some reason, I had always thought [if I were to get cancer] I would suffer in silence,” Fishel explained. “I would get the diagnosis. I would not tell anyone.
“I would tell only my small, small group, and then I would just suck it up. And then when I’m on the other side of it, then I would tell people.”
The longtime actress didn’t want that to be the case for anyone else who was similarly suffering.
Fishel, Strong, Friedle and co-star Ben Savage anchored the mighty popular “Boy Meets World,” which ran for seven season between 1993 and 2000 (Fishel wouldn’t become a regular until the second season) on ABC.
So popular was the show that Fishel reprised her role as Topanga on the spin-off sequel series, “Girl Meets World,” which ran from 2014 to 2017.
