‘General Hospital’ Star John J. York Reveals Blood Disease Diagnosis: ‘This Isn’t Goodbye’
Actor John J. York, best known for his role as Mac Scorpio on ABC’s “General Hospital,” revealed that he is being treated for two blood and bone marrow disorders.
On .
“I said I would give you an update on why I was taking a little break from ‘General Hospital,’ and here it is,” the legendary soap star said in a video shared on the platform.
“Last December 2022, I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and multiple smoldering myeloma – two diseases of the blood and bone marrow.”
Myelodysplastic syndromes are a “group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow fail to mature or become healthy blood cells,” the study said the National Cancer Institute.
The NCI notes that smoldering myeloma is a “precancerous disease” that changes certain proteins in the blood and/or increases plasma cells in the bone marrow but does not cause symptoms [myeloma] Illness.”
In his video, York said: “In the last few months I’ve had three bone marrow biopsies and lots of chemotherapy.”
In York, “I have another appointment coming up in a few weeks and I’m about to have a blood stem cell transplant.”
Elsewhere, the actor said he had “worked with some wonderful people Be the match to find a potential donor on their registry,” and urged his fans to do the same.
“I just want to say thank you for all the support over the years. This isn’t goodbye, it’s just ‘see you then,'” he said. “I have to take a break [from General Hospital] for at least three, maybe four months, but I’ll be back. Someone once said, ‘I’ll be back,'” referring to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous line in the film.
“Thank you so much. Check out Be the Match. Do what you can. Thank you for your patience, thank you for your time, thank you for your prayers. I’ll keep you posted. I’ll get back to you soon” , he added.
Over the course of his long-running television career, York has appeared in nearly 650 episodes since his debut on the series in 1991.
