In a startling video released on Friday, veteran YouTube personality Hank Green told his three million subscribers that he has Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Green has been around since YouTube’s early days, active since 2007. He also hosts podcasts with his brother John Green, author of “The Fault in Our Stars.”
“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 said at the top.
“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.
A biopsy delivered grim news.
“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.”
Green will soon begin chemotherapy, and said he was thankful for his 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 said. “I’ve really needed friends in the last few weeks, and I’ve been very grateful to have them.”
Green also assured his fans that he maintains a positive outlook and will “play it by ear” regarding his upcoming projects.
