It’s been a week that Dayana Torres won’t soon forget. First, a thrilling dance performance viewed by millions on Univision's "Mira Quién Baila All Stars" (MQBAS). Next, a final treatment for her stage 3 melanoma. And, for the grand finale, a celebration with friends and family gathering to say — all together now — “F*ck Cancer!”
Read MoreTorres' Melanoma Journey
Torres first announced she had cancer in February 2019. A spot on the back of her knee was cancerous and surgery proved that the melanoma had spread.
RELATED: Dayanara Torres, Looking Relaxed and Happy, Updates Fans on Her Metastatic Melanoma
This December, Torres shared that she’d had two surgeries in a video update of herself in the hospital, looking relaxed and happy. Torres and ex-husband singer Marc Anthony share two teenaged sons named Christian and Ryan. She told Hola! USA that she worries about them more than herself. "I know I will be fine, but when the night comes and you go to bed, you think about your children and that uncertainty is so strong."
Immunotherapy for Melanoma and More
Torres has become a vocal advocate of getting suspicious skin changes checked. "If you have doubts about a new mole that is growing, has different colors, uneven border… please call your doctor or dermatologist! … Early detection is key!" she’s said on Instagram.
RELATED: Examining Your Skin for Melanoma: Remember ABCDE
“Maybe this is the reason I am going through this, to alert people of skin cancer's mortal danger." The melanoma experts SurvivorNet has consulted in the past encourage everyone to do regular skin checks devoting some time every month to checking the body for any new or changing moles that may indicate skin cancer.
The good news for patients like Torres, with metastatic melanoma: Immunotherapy has made great strides when it comes to treating the later stages of melanoma.
Dr. Anna Pavlick, a medical oncologist at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous conversation that immunotherapy — or harvesting the immune system to wake up and attack cancer cells — helps the body help itself.
Dr. Anna Pavlick, a medical oncologist at NYU Perlmutter Cancer Center
“It’s essentially medicines that will get a patient's own body's immune system to wake up and attack, and look for, melanoma cells, she said. "Sometimes they may be microscopic, sometimes they may be in the form of tumors in other parts of the body."
RELATED: Side Effects from Immunotherapy Can be Managed
Though immunotherapy can come with some pretty serious side effects for people with melanoma such as severe rash, diarrhea, or abdominal pain there are ways to manage them, and the mode of treatment has changed the game for treating this disease.
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