Danielle Fishel gave an update on her breast cancer journey, sharing that while she’s “officially” done with treatment, she’s now dealing with the painful aftereffects of 20 rounds of radiation.
“I just wanted to give everyone an update because I’ve kept you guys all abreast,” Fishel, 43, quipped on the Jan. 13 episode of Pod Meets World, which she co-hosts with her Boy Meets World costars Rider Strong and Will Friedle.
“I am officially done with radiation,” she announced, earning cheers from Strong and Friedle. However, she shared that while she’s “officially done with what is considered active cancer treatment” for ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), a diagnosis she shared in August, Fishel is still dealing with the side effects.
“I did 15 rounds of whole breast radiation and then five rounds of targeted radiation, which just means they focus in on the very small area where my cancer was versus treating the entire breast,” she explained. “It will help significantly lower my chances of recurrence, which is always good news, but, boy, I am feeling the effects … Physically, I have a very bad sunburn. I also have a rash on top of the sunburn, which is just great,” she added sarcastically.
“It’s very itchy, and, also, you can’t itch it, because if you even come close to touching it, you wanna cry,” she said, saying it “hurts to wear a bra, hurts to not wear a bra. It just hurts to sleep on my side, hurts to sleep, period. Hurts to be awake.”
As Friedle and Strong expressed their concern for her, she said, “You know what? It’s not gonna last forever. Physically, every day now, I’m supposed to be getting better. Fatigue-wise, I am really very stinking tired.”
Fishel shared that her doctor told her radiation has a “cumulative effect” and that “you’re only right now starting to feel the effects of your first radiation.”
She shared that her doctors advised her she’ll feel better in “two to three months.”
“I’m sorry. What?” Fishel said, adding that her doctors advised “If I wanna feel better faster, I need to work out and drink water.”
“I’m sorry. You want me to be tired and take care of myself?” she joked. “I did start working out. I worked out yesterday. I’m gonna work out again on Friday because he said all the working out and drinking water helps my body get rid of all the damage that the radiation did,” she said.
She shared that she will start on the hormone therapy Tamoxifen once she recovers from the radiation. “They didn’t wanna overload me with negative side effects,” Fishel said, adding that radiation itself was “relatively easy. You don’t really do anything. You just lay there.”
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