General Hospital star John J. York says he’s on the road to recovery, albeit a long one.
The veteran actor, best known to fans as Mac Scorpio on the ABC soap since 1991, told his social media followers in September that he had been diagnosed late last year with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma — two blood and bone disorders of the bone. core. On Friday, he shared an update on how he’s been doing since receiving stem cells from a donor in November.
“Hi everyone. It’s me and I’m answering. … I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking, ‘Why did Mac shave his beard?’ ” said the completely hairless York with a smile. “I didn’t shave my beard. I actually shaved off what little hair was left.”
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He went on to give an update on how things are going since his transplant early last month, explaining that he’s still in the middle stages of treatment, but so far “it’s going really well.”
“I have a long way to go, but the test results look good; I feel very good,” he said. “I hope, we hopeif things go as they are, maybe [I’ll] return to the show late spring, early summer.”
According to the National Cancer Institute, MDS is “a group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells,” while multiple smoldering myeloma is “a precancerous condition that changes certain proteins in the blood and/or increases plasma cells in the bone marrow but does not cause symptoms [myeloma] disease.”
Over the course of the year, York had three bone marrow biopsies and many chemotherapy treatments while the search for a matching donor was ongoing. One was finally found thanks to the efforts of BeTheMatch.org, and the process began in November.
John J. York stars in ‘General Hospital’.
Troy Harvey/ABC
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“I just wanted to thank you all for all your messages and messages of support, encouragement and all the love you’ve been sending me,” he said in a Friday video. “I feel your hugs every day, and I thank you so much for that… So, one day at a time. We have to take care of this. In the meantime, I want you all to have a very, very, very Merry Christmas with your family and friends, your loved ones.”
“I wish you all a very happy, healthy and successful New Year, and for luck – how about a little luck?” he said with a big grin as he rubbed his bald head. “Put some happiness in there, okay?”
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Source: HIS Education