Former Miss Universe Dayanara Torres, ex-wife to singer Marc Anthony, has given her 1.3 million Instagram followers an update as she undergoes immunotherapy treatments for metastatic melanoma, which she was diagnosed with earlier this year.
The video, taken in the hospital, shows Torres looking relaxed and happy as she shares that she has had two surgeries, and that her treatment will end March 2020.
Read More“Gracias Dr. Hamid & the whole staff at #TheAngelesClinicAndResearchInstitute for your incredible Love & Support, always making me feel loved like family… I know I’m in the best hands,” she wrote.
She also used her large platform to advocate for screening: “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!”
The Deadliest Form of Skin Cancer
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Most cases of the disease are caused by sun exposure, and it can develop on a pre-existing mole or can develop as a new growth. In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, NYU oncologist Dr. Anna Pavlick explained that melanoma is particularly dangerous because the disease has a tendency to spread to other parts of the body. About 90% of all melanomas are caused by excessive ultraviolet radiation.
RELATED: Beating Aggressive Melanoma — An Immunotherapy Success Story
In her post, Torres did note that “melanoma is the most serious cancer of all, it can spread out to any other areas in your body, and even worse, to any organ, as it runs through your lymphatic system.”
Spreading Melanoma Awareness
Melanoma is significantly easier to manage if detected early. 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 Torres: Immunotherapy has made great strides when it comes to treating the later stages of melanoma.
Dr. Pavlick said immunotherapy, or harvesting the immune system to wake up and attack cancer cells, helps the body help itself.
“Immunotherapy for melanoma is 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.”
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.
Related: Immunotherapy for Melanoma
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
