Author and vlogger Hank Green is opening up about his cancer diagnosis.
Green, 43, who runs the YouTube account @vlogbrothers with his brother, author John Green, shared the news in a video Friday posted to their channel, which has more than 3.5 million subscribers.
“Good news, bad news,” Green said after recapping a doctor’s appointment for swollen lymph nodes. “One is cancer. It’s called lymphoma. It’s a cancer of the lymphatic system. And good news is something called Hodgkin’s lymphoma. It’s … like one of the most treatable cancers. It responds very well to treatment. The goal is cure.”
Lymphomas are cancers that begin in white blood cells named “lymphocytes,” according to the American Cancer Society. Hodgkin lymphoma and non-Hodgkin lymphoma are the two main kinds. Hodgkin lymphoma starts in B lymphocytes which are meant to create antibodies. Because the lymphatic system exists through the body, Hodgkin lymphoma can spread nearly anywhere.
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To treat his cancer, Green said he would undergo chemotherapy for four months or longer. He said he has some concerns about how things will go – and not just in treatment, which he said “is fairly well known, if unpleasant.”
“I’m wrestling with the reality that this is now part of how people are going to imagine me. It’s like it’s an identity that I’m having thrust upon me, which happens to people all the time,” he said. “And it’s totally the thing that I will get over but I do like I do just kind of say it out loud that like I want to be like fun goofy science guy. Not like struggling with anxiety, cancer.”
He said though the brothers’ audience will understand if he takes breaks, he also expects to update fans, perhaps in the format of a newsletter.
Green said he doesn’t want health advice, but he would like people to sign up for his newsletter and he’s also looking for upbeat movie, television and game recommendations.
He wrapped his video up with a “play-it-by-ear” expectation set in place.
“I hope this isn’t my last vlogbrothers video for four months or whatever,” he said. “If it is, it is. I don’t want to put pressure on me.”
His brother, he said, will also likely take some time off from posting on the channel.
Green is the author of sci-fi novels “An Absolutely Remarkable Thing” and “A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor,” and over the past few years, he’s gained fame on TikTok with educational and entertaining videos on science topics. And he and his brother have created educational YouTube shows, including CrashCourse and SciShow, as well as VidCon, a major annual conference for online creators.
Contributing: Hannah Yasharoff
