North Texas woman battling cancer spreads joy with viral dance video

DALLAS, Texas - A North Texas woman with a rare form of sarcoma is proving even the deadly disease can’t keep her spirits down.

Ana-Alecia Ayala posted a 40-second video of her and her chemo buddy, Danielle Andrus, dancing at the Baylor Cancer Hospital in Dallas. It’s now gotten more than 1.5 million views and counting.

“Who says cancer and chemo have to get you down? We'll have the last laugh!” she wrote. “We want to show the world that dancing and laughter is the BEST medicine.”

Ayala says she was diagnosed with uterine sarcoma and has been fighting it since Dec. 2015. Scans in July showed the cancer spread to her spleen. Since then, she’s been going through a more aggressive chemo approach. A recent September scan showed her tumor had shrunk.

“We just wanted to inspire and motivate people in my position to not see cancer as such a depressing, sad, death sentence,” she told FOX 4. “We also wanted to encourage people/loved ones/caregivers to get out of their comfort zones (as my chemo buddy Danielle did for me) and laugh, sing, dance through the pain! Laughter has really been the best medicine for me!”

A GoFundMe account has been set up for Ayala’s medical expenses. She says a new scan in a few weeks will show how the tumor is responding to the treatments.