Danielle Fishel had a health scare that made her want to seek out more joy in life.

The 44-year-old actress had treatment for breast cancer.

‘The minute I was done with my cancer treatment, I thought to myself, “If this has shown me anything, it has shown me that I am not experiencing enough joy in my life,”‘ the Boy Meets World alum told People.

‘I’m going through every day, performing tasks and being there for my family and being there for work. Where’s the fun?’ she asked.

So when the Dancing With The Stars call came, she said yes.

‘When they asked me to do this, I was like, “This is the perfect way to cap it off,”‘ she explained.

Danielle Fishel had a health scare that made her want to seek out more joy in life, she told People. Seen September 5 in West Hollywood

The 44-year-old actress had treatment for breast cancer. ‘The minute I was done with my cancer treatment, I thought to myself, “If this has shown me anything, it has shown me that I am not experiencing enough joy in my life,”‘ the Boy Meets World alum told the site

Fishel was ‘saying yes to this year’ and joining DWTS ‘was just the fastest’ she’s ever said ‘yes.’

Fishel is paired with pro Pasha Pashkov on the show.

Fishel was diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer called ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS).

She shared the news in August on her podcast, Pod Meets World.

Treatment included a lumpectomy in August and a margin revision surgery in September, she told PEOPLE. 

She thought about getting a double mastectomy, but doctors said that because the disease was caught so early, a lumpectomy was the best way to go.

‘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 told PEOPLE about how her cancer was found. ‘I was not expecting in any way that it was going to find anything. It was really shocking.’

After 20 rounds of radiation, she said it ‘hurt to be awake’ because of the rash she got.

‘I’m going through every day, performing tasks and being there for my family and being there for work. Where’s the fun?’ she asked. Seen September 7 in Los Angeles

So when the Dancing With The S tars call came, she said yes. ‘When they asked me to do this, I was like, “This is the perfect way to cap it off,”‘ she explained. Seen with dance partner Pasha Pashkov

Danielle has two sons with husband Jensen Karp: Adler, six, and Keaton, four. 

Like many past contestants who have undergone a physical transformation after competing on the show, Danielle hopes to transform her body as well.

‘My physical goals are just to get into the best shape of my life because I’m going to be training for four hours a day, six days a week at least. So I think I’m going to get in pretty good shape,’ she shared with Daily Mail last week.

‘And my mental goal’s almost kind of the opposite – I want physically to be the strongest and most strict with myself I’ve ever been, and mentally, I really want to give myself a lot of grace and try to feel what it feels like to feel proud of myself.

‘This time I really want to try to live in it and really experience joy and pride.’

The star during The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Halloween Party At The Mondrian Hotel at Sky Bar At The Mondrian Hotel in West Hollywood

Following the cast announcement, the Boy Meets World star debuted her show Danielle with the Stars: Danielle Fishel with iHeartPodcasts.

She said she and partner Pashkov, 39, were asked to arrive at rehearsals disguised; she says she’s shown up every day in a different character mask including a Hulk mask, an Iron Man mask, a Black Panther mask, and a Spiderman mask.

Her partner is a perfect personality fit and they get along really well; she says both she and her dance partner are both perfectionists.

Danielle says pro dancer Val Chmerkovskiy went up to her and asked if it was inappropriate to tell her he loved her.

She also talked about meeting Dylan Efron and says it’s her dream to have the both of them in the finals and wants to form an alliance with him and his partner.

Fishel’s first guest will be her newly announced dance partner, Pasha, which will air Friday, September 5. 

Upcoming guests will also include Sabrina Bryan, who competed twice on Dancing with the Stars, first in Season 5 (2007) with Mark Ballas and later in the All-Stars Season 15 (2012) with Louis Van Amstel; and Jodie Sweetin, who joined Season 22 (2016) with Keo Motsepe. 

Fishel is best known for her iconic role as Topanga on the ’90s TGIF staple ‘Boy Meets World.’ 

Fishel seen here in 2008 at Planet Hollywood

She would later reprise the role for Girl Meets World, a millennial reboot that ran for three seasons on Disney Channel.

Since 2017, Fishel has moved behind the camera.

The blonde has directed over 50 episodes of multicamera television, including Disney Channel’s Wizards Beyond Waverly Place and ‘Raven’s Home (for which she was nominated for two Emmys).

She has also worked on ABC’s Shifting Gears and NBC’s Lopez vs. Lopez.

She also co-hosts the hit iHeart podcast Pod Meets World, alongside her best friends and former costars Will Friedle and Rider Strong. 

Additionally, Fishel is passionate about her clean and affordable hair care line, Be Free by Danielle Fishel, which is available online and through QVC.