John J. York, known for starring as Mac Scorpio on ABC’s "General Hospital," is being treated for two blood and bone marrow disorders.
The 64-year-old actor shared the health update on social media days after announcing that he was taking a hiatus from the long-running series in order to focus on his health.
"I said I was going to give you an update on the reason I’m taking a little hiatus from ‘General Hospital’ and here it is," the soap star said in a video he shared on social media platform X.
"So last December of ’22, I was diagnosed with Myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma — two blood and bone marrow disorders."
According to the National Cancer Institute, Myelodysplastic syndromes are a "group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells."
Smoldering myeloma is a "precancerous condition that alters certain proteins in blood and/or increases plasma cells in bone marrow, but it does not cause symptoms of [myeloma] disease," the NCI notes.
In his video, York said that in the past few months he has had three bone marrow biopsies, "many chemo treatments" and was "closing in on a blood stem cell transplant."
The actor also said in the video that he’s "been working with some wonderful people at Be The Match to find a potential donor on their registry."
He went on to urge his fans to do the same.
"I just want to say thanks for all the support over the years. This isn’t goodbye, this is just, ‘So long,'" he said. "I’ll have to take a break [from General Hospital] for at least three, maybe four months, but I’ll be back. Someone once said that ‘I’ll be back,’" he added, referring to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic "Terminator" movie line.
"Thanks a lot. Check out Be the Match. Do whatever you can. Thanks for your patience, thanks for your time, thanks for your prayers. I’ll keep you updated. Talk to you soon," he said.
Zoe Papadakis ✉
Zoe Papadakis is a Newsmax writer based in South Africa with two decades of experience specializing in media and entertainment. She has been in the news industry as a reporter, writer and editor for newspapers, magazine and websites.
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