“General Hospital” star John J. York disclosed earlier this month that he would be taking a “brief hiatus” from the program as he waited on “important information.”
After telling his followers on X, formerly Twitter, “Hang tight, and I’ll be in touch,” last night, the soap opera star revealed the devastating reason for his departure – two blood and bone marrow disorder diagnoses.
“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,” York began in a video. “So last December of ’22, I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma — two blood and bone marrow disorders.”
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Soap opera actor John J. York shared he would be taking a hiatus from “General Hospital” due to blood and bone marrow disorders. (Todd Wawrychuk/ABC via Getty Images)
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The National Cancer Institute defines MDS as a “group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells.” It defines multiple smoldering myeloma as “a precancerous condition that alters certain proteins in blood and/or increases plasma cells in bone marrow, but it does not cause symptoms of disease.”
According to the institute, nearly half of those diagnosed with the precancerous condition will develop multiple myeloma within a five-year period.
John J. York and Kristina Wagner, pictured here, play married couple Malcolm ‘Mac’ and Felicia Scorpio on “General Hospital.” (Christine Bartolucci/ABC via Getty Images)
“Over the past many months, I’ve had three bone marrow biopsies, many chemo treatments, I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’m closing in on a blood stem cell transplant,” the 64-year-old shared.
“I’ve been working with some wonderful people at Be The Match to find a potential donor on their registry.”
John J. York has starred on “General Hospital” since 1991. (Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)
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“If it’s possible and you would consider being a donor, joining their registry, for not just me but thousands and thousands of other people who are in need of a donor, go to bethematch.org/matchformac,” he humbly asked.
“I just want to say thanks for all the support over the years. This isn’t goodbye, this is just, ‘So long,'” he admitted. “I’ll have to take a break for at least three, maybe four months, but I’ll be back. Someone once said that, ‘I’ll be back,'” he said, referencing Arnold Schwarzenegger’s iconic “Terminator” line.
Kristina Wagner and John J. York in a promotional photo for “General Hospital.” (Ricky Middlesworth/ABC via Getty Images)
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“Thanks a lot. Check out Be the Match. Do whatever you can. And thanks for your patience, thanks for your time, thanks for your prayers. I’ll keep you updated. Talk to you soon,” he concluded.
York has graced television screens since 1982, but his career on the soap opera began in 1991.
