Hank Green, brother of author John Green, says he has cancer
(WFLA) — Vlogger Hank Green, known for his informational videos and vlogs on social media, announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with cancer.
Hank Green announced the diagnosis on his YouTube channel vlogbrothers – which he co-runs with his brother, author John Green, known for books like The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns.
“I’m fine, but I’m not fine, and it sucks,” Hank Green said.
He said he had an ultrasound after noticing his lymph nodes were getting larger than normal.
After a biopsy, the 43-year-old vlogger learned he had Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“It’s likely we caught mine early,” he said.
Hank Green said he has some risk factors for lymphoma because of his medical history, such as an autoimmune disease, mono’s disease from his childhood and certain medications he was taking.
According to him, he had no symptoms of the cancer, but assumes that the chemotherapy will cause problems with his video content. He said he will start treatment soon.
“I know I’m going to feel like garbage,” he said. “Like it’s going to be really awkward. With chemotherapy, the body is deliberately poisoned, causing the super-hungry cells to become even more poisoned and die.”
He invited his audience to subscribe to his newsletter and send him any movie, show or video game to enjoy while struggling with his cancer.
Hank Green said he has a friend whose lymphoma has been in remission for 10 years, which will help him manage his own treatment.
“It was really nice to have this in my back pocket to text and be like, ‘Is this normal?’ am i panicking Please tell me I’ll be fine,” he said, laughing.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states that Hodgkin lymphoma is a type of cancer that occurs more frequently in the lymphatic system in younger people, while non-Hodgkin lymphoma becomes more common in adults as they age.
According to the American Cancer Society, the five-year relative survival rate for Hodgkin lymphoma is very high, with early-stage survival rates ranging from 93 to 85%. Even late-stage lymphoma has an 83% survival rate.
