Model-actress Dayanara Torres says she has skin cancer

NEW YORK (AP) - Actress Dayanara Torres says she has skin cancer and is awaiting news on the treatment to follow after having undergone two surgeries.

The former Miss Universe said in an Instagram post Monday that doctors have "already removed a big area from the back of my knee & also they have removed 2 lymph nodes at the top of my leg where it had already spread."

Torres, who has two children with ex-husband Marc Anthony, opened the clip by saying that mothers have a tendency to care for everyone around them and forget about themselves.

She said she was diagnosed with melanoma for "a big spot/mole I never paid attention to" and that her fiancé, Marvel Studios' co-president Louis D'Esposito, was the one who made her the doctor's appointment after "begging" her to go have it checked.

"After a biopsy & a second surgery last Tuesday the results unfortunately are positive," she said.

Torres, who is from Puerto Rico and in 2017 won Univision's dancing competition "ˆ¡Mira Quién Baila!," said that she's feeling strong. She said her sons Cristian, 18, and Ryan, 15, are "a bit scared" but know about her faith in God and that "they have a warrior of a mommy!"

She ended with a plea to her 900,000 followers: "PLEASE, never forget to take care of yourself."