General Hospital’s John J. York Shares a Cancer Update: ‘It’s Gonna Work Out OK, One Way or Another’
John J. York Shares a Cancer Update: ‘It’s Gonna Work Out OK, One Way or Another’
John J. York is in good spirits. That may not be what folks would expect for the General Hospital star who was diagnosed with MDS — myelodysplastic syndromes — and multiple smoldering myeloma back in December, but Mac’s longtime portrayer is taking his cancer diagnosis in stride.
When York sat down to talk with People, he put it this way: “It’s gonna work out OK, one way or another.” In the end, it’s in God’s hands. “I’m either gonna survive or I’m not. And life goes on and things are gonna be OK for everybody.”
It helps, of course, that health issues are nothing new to him. The actor explained that he’s dealt with ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease since he was a teenager. This, he noted, was “just another thing that I gotta now take care of.”
In fact, it was because of those conditions that he had to have constant checkups and monitoring, which helped the doctors find his blood disorders. With that said, it still came as a surprise, especially to his wife, Vicki, who, York shared, was understandably “a mess.”
She cut right to the chase when the doctor started explaining what was going on and flat out asked if all those medical terms meant her husband had cancer. He did. The word is enough to frighten anyone, but that hasn’t stopped Vicki from being York’s “guiding force,” the family caretaker and an undeniable source of strength.
It helps, as York told People, that “I feel great. I mean, I walk three miles a day and I’m in great shape. And my diet is great and my appetite is great. [The doctor] said that was because we got it early.”
York’s been getting IV chemo treatments every month since March at home in Tennessee and now it’s just a matter of waiting for a bone marrow donor. He’s been bumped up the list and is hopeful that he’ll have a match soon. “Many of my family members tested,” he shared. “I believe that the age range is like 18 to 40 to join the registry at bethematch.org/matchformac.”
While he announced that he’d be taking a break from General Hospital for a few months, Mac’s portrayer explained to People that he should be able to fly back and forth between Tennessee and Los Angeles to film until his transplant. At that point, he’ll have to stay home in “semi-isolation.”
After that, though, expect Mac right back on our screens where he belongs. As he shared with fans when he made the announcement, he’ll be back! In the meantime, we’ll all continue to keep him and his family in our thoughts and have no doubt he’ll beat this and be stronger than ever!
