YouTube star Hank Green reveals cancer diagnosis

Hank Green, a veteran Youtube Star with over 15 years of experience and over three million subscribers is informing his audience of a more personal life update. Green reveals a serious health update in a 13-minute video uploaded to his Youtube channel on Friday.

Throughout the video, Green spoke candidly with his fans to announce his Hodgkin’s lymphoma diagnosis. Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a type of blood cancer.

What is Hodgkin’s lymphoma?

According to Mayo Clinic, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is characterized by the presence of abnormal cells called Reed-Sternberg cells, which are large, atypical cells found in the lymph nodes. The lymphatic system is part of the body’s immune system and consists of lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, and lymphoid organs, such as the spleen and bone marrow.

Lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, play a crucial role in the immune response. In Hodgkin’s lymphoma, there is an abnormal growth of these lymphocytes, particularly the Reed-Sternberg cells. The prognosis for Hodgkin’s lymphoma has significantly improved over the years, and many people with this type of cancer can be cured with appropriate treatment.

“So there have been a bunch of times over the last few weeks where this has become more and more real. This is the big one,” Green, 43, began his video.

Diagnosis process

“I noticed that my lymph nodes were big. I talked to my doctor. She said, ‘It’s probably nothing. We’ll send you in for an ultrasound.’ I got an ultrasound, and the tech in the ultrasound room was like, ‘I’m going to go get a doctor.’ That’s not what you want to have happened,” he continued.

In the video titled “So, I’ve got cancer,” Green explains how he was immediately scheduled for a biopsy which revealed his cancer diagnosis.

“When you’re in the American health care system, you don’t expect things to move quick,” he added. “That’s not what it does. That’s not what it looks like. When it starts to get a little efficient, it’s actually quite disconcerting.”

According to Mayo Clinic, some symptoms of lymphoma may include painless swelling of the lymph nodes in the neck, armpits, or groin, fatigue, fever, night sweats, shortness of breath, weight loss, and itchy skin.

Green also revealed he’s “not really looking forward” to starting chemotherapy and that his treatment is expected to start “very soon.”

A strong support system

“All of the time that I have spent investing in friendships, and even when they have been hard, to try and keep them strong, and even when I have been busy, to try and spend time with them, has been joyful in the moment and wise in the long term,” he explained. “I’ve really needed friends in the last few weeks, and I’ve been very grateful to have them.”

Thankfully, Green assured fans that he actually doesn’t feel too bad at the moment.

“Even though I don’t feel bad at all right now except for some soreness because of the biopsy and maybe because my lymph nodes are big. I don’t feel any symptoms of this. I feel fine. I don’t even really feel fatigued,” explained Green.

“I feel stress symptoms,” he joked.