Danielle Fishel Is 'Thrilled to Be Alive' After Breast Cancer Surgery: 'Could Have Been Much Worse' (Exclusive)

• Danielle Fishel was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer in July
• She underwent a successful lumpectomy and has had a clear mammogram ever since
• The star is using her breast cancer journey to encourage others about the importance of preventative care and following up with routine checkups

Danielle Fishel is “thrilled to be alive” as she recovers from breast cancer surgery.

Actress — best known for her role in the 90s sitcom A boy meets the world and its sequel spin-off A girl meets the world — revealed to PEOPLE about her diagnosis on July 22 after 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 non-invasive stage zero cancer trapped inside the milk ducts.

“I felt healthy, I looked healthy. But I went for a mammogram and they said it looked suspicious and the results were abnormal,” she tells PEOPLE. “I never expected them to find anything. It was really shocking.”

A few weeks later, Fishel underwent a lumpectomy in August and margin revision surgery in September. She initially considered a double mastectomy, but several doctors confirmed that a lumpectomy was the best way to “get back to a normal life as soon as possible,” since the disease was caught so early.

Danielle Fishel from A boy meets the world She reveals that at the age of 43 she has an early stage of breast cancer

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After a second surgery last month, Fishel’s scans came back clear and she was back at work eight days later.

“That pathology returned with no cancer found. Since then, I have had a screening mammogram,” she shares. “I feel very good. I’m just thankful that the surgery is behind me.”

“Moving forward now, I still have to make a decision about radiation and will most likely start hormone therapy,” he adds.

Fishel has since had some lingering effects — two incisions she says are painful and uncomfortable. “The removal of the lymph nodes was the longest and most difficult recovery,” she notes. The The floor meets the world The podcast host admits she’s also “re-learning how to look at myself” as she mourns her body and her cancer-torn life.

“I notice a difference in the way I look physically. Apart from only two incisions, I can say that the tissue was removed from my breast,” she says. I’m not thrilled about it, but I’m thrilled to be alive and thrilled that my cancer was caught early.”

“So I have a lot of blessings, but I also leave room and space for myself to mourn some of the things that I’ve lost.”

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Looking back on the past few months, Fishel admits that this year “it would have been a lot easier to postpone the mammogram” because she was very busy with work and her two children – sons Adler and Keaton, with whom she shares husband Jensen Karp.

“Finding time for health check-ups is not always easy, but one of our family values ​​is not to postpone these things. So I made an 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.

By teaming up with the company, the former child star says she feels a responsibility to use her platform to help inspire others to take care of their health and understand the importance of preventative care.

“When I was trying to make a decision about whether I wanted to talk about it publicly or not, my first instinct was to keep it quiet, not tell anyone and just get through it. Suffer it yourself,” she admits.

Danielle Fishel’s husband calls her ‘strongest person’ after sharing breast cancer diagnosis: ‘I’m so proud’

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“But it was like, okay, I have the ability to go out there and tell a lot of people if I hadn’t been like that at my annual checkup, maybe I wouldn’t have found this,” she tells PEOPLE. “If I said, ‘I had a mammogram last year, I was completely fine. What are the odds that I will have anything in a year? I’ll be fine. I’ll put it off, it could have been a lot worse.”

Fishel says she has no problem persuading loved ones — and even strangers — to get their routine checkups.

“No one wants to feel bored. No one wants to feel like a nag. But to truly be able to say to your friends and family, ‘I love you, your health is important. I want you to be healthy. Have you made appointments?’ it actually makes a difference.”

“So, even if you don’t know me personally, consider me a friend or family member gently reminding you to take your health into your own hands,” says Fishel.

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Source: HIS Education