A beloved Northern California news anchor is stepping away from the desk after more than two decades on the air, months after revealing a heartbreaking Stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis.
Monty Torres, the longtime Fox 26 KMPH anchor in Fresno, shared the emotional news with viewers in a video message Thursday night, telling the community he will not be returning to the nightly newscast.
“I promised to keep you updated on my progress since my lung cancer diagnosis, and tonight I am here to keep that promise,” Torres said.
The announcement came after a frightening health battle that began last year, when Torres suddenly disappeared from the 10 p.m. broadcast. In October, he finally told viewers why: he had been diagnosed with Stage 4 lung cancer that doctors said was inoperable and incurable.
Now, nine months later, Torres said he has received encouraging news. His symptoms have “nearly all disappeared,” and a recent biopsy of trace fluid in his lungs showed “no malignant cells present.” According to Torres, doctors did not find a trace of cancer in that sample.
Still, the veteran anchor made it clear that his fight is not necessarily over. Doctors have warned there could still be cancer elsewhere in his body.
Despite the hopeful update, Torres said the time has come for him to walk away from the news desk that made him a familiar face in homes across the Central Valley.
“After more than 20 years as part of the Fox 26 news family, I am here also tonight to sadly announce that I will not be returning to the news desk,” Torres said.
He added that he and his family plan to remain in the Valley as he continues focusing on his recovery, unless “God sends us somewhere else.”
“I will very much miss my nightly connection to my workers, co-workers and colleagues here at KMPH, and all of you,” he said.
Torres first revealed his diagnosis after weeks away from the broadcast, telling viewers at the time that he felt he owed them an explanation after spending so many years with them almost every night.
“About a month ago, I started experiencing severe shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, wheezing and coughing,” he said in his earlier message.
An X-ray showed fluid in his lungs and revealed that one of his lungs had partially collapsed. Further testing brought the devastating news: Stage 4 cancer.
“It is inoperable, due to its location, and incurable,” Torres told viewers then. “But still treatable.”
Torres has been a fixture in California news for years. Born and raised in Southern California, he began his career in Los Angeles as a weekend anchor and co-host of a community affairs program before joining KMPH in Fresno as a general assignment reporter in 1996.
He later worked at stations in Florida, Michigan and North Carolina before returning to Fresno in 2006, where he became one of the familiar faces of the Fox 26 10 o’clock news.
Torres is married to his wife, Lorretta, and the couple has six children.
His emotional goodbye marks the end of a major chapter for Fresno viewers who spent more than 20 years watching him deliver the news. But for Torres, the focus now is on family, faith and healing.
