A Special Bond
- America’s Got Talent has crowned a new champ, a Lebanese dance troupe called ‘The Mayyas,’ and they will be forever grateful to spicy, Latin judge Sofia Vergara, who helped them get there.
- 50-year-old Vergara, a thyroid cancer survivor, gave the group the coveted “Golden Buzzer” earlier in the season, which secured them an automatic spot in the finals. When they won the competition, they gave her a special token of their appreciation.
- The actress beat cancer in 2000. Signs of thyroid cancer include a swelling or lump in the neck. There are tests to examine the thyroid and neck in order to diagnose thyroid cancer, along with blood tests. Thyroid nodules, unusual growths in the thyroid gland, are common but usually are not cancer.
50-year-old Vergara, a thyroid cancer survivor, gave the group the coveted “Golden Buzzer” earlier in the season, which secured them an automatic spot in the finals.
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One of the troupe’s dancers, Melissa Saliba, described the impromptu gifting moment.
“It just happened spontaneously,” Saliba said “One of the dancers took her necklace off, this one with the Cedar, with the flag. This is our flag and we gave it to SofÃa.”
Though the insanely talented performers deserve this win, they said their confidence wasn’t always there, and this has been a “childhood dream” for them to be recognized on one of the biggest competition shows “against huge talents.”
Nadim Cherfan, the group’s founder, describes how he and his 37 dancers are now preparing to headline a residency in Las Vegas at the Luxor Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, and will be divvying up their $1 million in winnings from the show.
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“We’re going to eat pizza,” Cherfan said of their down time before starting the exciting new opportunity in Sin City. “We just want to sit next to each other and just relax, now. Vegas should be nervous!”
All in all, despite the fact that they mesmerized fans all over the world, some commenters calling it “the top act” ever, the group believes they truly owe it all to Sofia.
“I told her, ‘Thank you, SofÃa, for everything,'” added Cherfan. “She said, ‘No, thank you.'”
Vergara is a Proud Survivor
Vergara, who married actor Joe Manganiello, 45, in 2015, found the lump in her neck by chance back in 2000. Vergara’s family has a history of the disease, which affects how your body uses blood sugar, so she had taken her son Manolo, now 31, to get checked out early for diabetes.
"While we were there, the doctor wanted to check me, too, and he found a lump in my neck," Vergara said in an interview with Health.
Vergara had no symptoms at the time and questioned having to undergo surgery but she went through with itfollowed by iodine radiation treatment, and was glad she did. "When you go through something like this, it's hard, but you learn a lot from it," she said. "Your priorities change. You don't sweat the small stuff. And it had a good ending."
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She had to take a pill every day. "It controls your body's metabolism and gives you the levels that you need. An unregulated thyroid can lead to problems with your weight, hair loss, and other things, so they give me a blood test every three months to see where my level is," she said.
"Actually, I feel very lucky. In a lot of women, the cancer isn't found until around menopause and by then its too late."
The Latin bombshell, who has always had a charitable side to her, helped build a cancer center in her hometown of Barranquilla.
"I visited the cancer ward of a hospital in Colombia, and parents were just sitting on the floor while their kids were being treated," she said.
"When you're a mother and your kid is sick, you feel it yourself,” the mom-of-one added, noting that she wanted to set up a “comfortable place for parents."
What Exactly is Thyroid Cancer?
According to the National Cancer Institute, "Thyroid cancer is a disease in which malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the thyroid gland," which is a butterfly-shaped gland at the base of the neck.
Signs of thyroid cancer include a swelling or lump in the neck. There are tests to examine the thyroid and neck in order to diagnose thyroid cancer, along with blood tests. Thyroid nodules, unusual growths in the thyroid gland, are common but usually are not cancer.
Feeling for lumps in your neck (or breasts, or anywhere else in your body) is always a good idea, along with getting routine checkups at the doctor's office.
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