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Get ready for an exciting announcement for the melanoma community

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The Melanoma Research Foundation and Dayanara Torres Want You to #GetNaked!

Washington, DC – October 1, 2020 – The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is proud to welcome Dayanara Torres as the newest spokesperson and featured model in its award-winning #GetNaked melanoma awareness campaign. In addition to being a globally recognized actress, author, model and former Miss Universe, Dayanara is also a survivor of stage 3 metastatic melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.

Since her own diagnosis in February 2019, Dayanara has courageously and openly shared her experience with millions of fans and social media followers, offering an intimate and honest portrait of the physical and emotional challenges that can accompany melanoma diagnosis, treatment and recovery. The MRF is honored to partner with such a committed advocate for the melanoma community and is especially proud to feature Dayanara during National Hispanic Heritage Month.

“We have long admired Dayanara’s commitment to increase awareness among millions of people in communities across the world that may believe they are not at risk,” said MRF CEO Kyleigh LiPira. “Sharing her story through the #GetNaked campaign will help to dispel the dangerous myth that melanoma only affects older people or those with fair skin, while in truth it does not discriminate by age, race or gender – everyone is at risk.”

In the nearly two years since Dayanara announced her diagnosis, dermatologists have reported a significant increase in skin exams among Hispanic patients. Many new patients cited her story as their motivation to make an appointment, a public health phenomenon that has since been named “the Dayanara Effect.”

“As part of the MRF’s #GetNaked campaign I hope to continue to create awareness about the importance of regularly checking your skin and yearly visiting a dermatologist for a full-body exam. While melanoma can affect anybody, early detection is the key to saving lives. I had misconceptions about skin cancer and one of my missions is for every single person to know the risks and how to detect it early on,” Dayanara expressed.

The MRF’s #GetNaked campaign promotes the importance of melanoma early detection through monthly self-skin checks and an annual full body exam by a board-certified dermatologist. The campaign showcases bold images and shares powerful stories from real melanoma patients and survivors to increase awareness of a cancer that will be diagnosed in more than 196,000 Americans this year. Additional information about this exciting new partnership will be released throughout the month of October and beyond. To learn more about melanoma, the Melanoma Research Foundation and the #GetNaked campaign, visit www.melanoma.org.

Download free educational materials in English and Spanish (more coming soon!):

More than 196,000 people of every age, race and gender will be diagnosed with melanoma this year in the United States. The Melanoma Research Foundation is leading the fight against melanoma for courageous survivors like Dayanara and your support will bring us one step closer to a cure. Please consider a tax-deductible donation today.

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About Melanoma
Melanoma is one of the fastest growing cancers in the United States and can strike men and women of all ages, races and skin types. With a 1 in 50 lifetime risk of developing melanoma, in 2020 more than 196,000 Americans will be diagnosed. Melanoma is the leading cause of cancer death in women 25-to 29-years-old and the second most commonly diagnosed cancer in adolescents and young adults 15-to 29-years-old. Most melanomas occur on the skin; but melanoma can also occur in the eye (ocular, or uveal melanoma), in mucous membranes (mucosal melanoma), or even beneath fingernails or toenails.

 

About the Melanoma Research Foundation
The Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF) is the largest independent organization devoted to melanoma. Since 1998, the MRF has funded over $19.6 million in melanoma research, transforming the landscape of treatment development. Committed to the support of medical research in finding effective treatments and eventually a cure for melanoma, the MRF also educates patients and physicians about prevention, diagnosis and the treatment of melanoma. The MRF is a committed advocate for the melanoma community, helping to raise awareness of the disease and the need for a cure. The MRF’s website is the premier source for melanoma information seekers. More information is available at https://melanoma.org. Find the MRF on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

 

About Dayanara Torres

Born into a poor but very close-knit family in a small town in Puerto Rico, Dayanara Torres was discovered during her senior year of high school by scouts for the Miss Puerto Rico pageant. Dayanara not only became Miss Puerto Rico but later also won the Miss Universe crown (1993) at the age of 18. Her victory not only made her a “national treasure” on her island, but also catapulted her into global stardom.

Dayanara became an international ambassador for UNICEF and continued to travel around the world as its representative even after the end of her reign. Upon finishing her year as Miss Universe and handing over her crown to the next pageant winner in Manila, Torres became an overnight sensation in the Philippines, where she became the host of the two most popular television shows and starred in twelve movies throughout the four years she lived in the country.

After marrying and divorcing, Dayanara, the single mother of two boys, decided to rebuild her career in 2004 and quickly landed a recurring role on CBS’s “Young and the Restless” as well as being a Special Correspondent for “Access Hollywood” (NBC). Dayanara then moved to primetime drama and film, starring alongside William Forsythe, Tony Danza, Jamie Camil, Lin-Manuel Miranda and more.

Dayanara is a published author and her book “Married To Me” is a girlfriend’s guide to getting through a divorce as gracefully as possible.

In 2017, she participated and won (celebrity dance competition) “Mira Quien Baila” which gave a $55,000 grant to her charity, the San Jorge Children’s Hospital Foundation in her native Puerto Rico. She has since become a judge on the show (2018, 2019 and 2020 seasons).

Media:

For Dayanara Torres:

Jennifer J. Nieman

The Nieman Group

[email protected]

305.335.3054

 

For the Melanoma Research Foundation:

Adam Smartt

Communications Officer, Melanoma Research Foundation

[email protected]

202.740.7245