‘General Hospital’ Star John J. York Gives Update on Cancer Battle
The Doctor Is In
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General Hospital actor John J. York has been opening up about his cancer diagnosis, revealing that he’s ready to take it on with a positive attitude.
The soap star, who has played Malcolm “Mac” Scorpio on the long-running ABC daytime drama for 22 years, announced last week that he has been undergoing treatment for two blood and bone marrow disorders — myelodysplastic syndromes and multiple smoldering myeloma.
In a new interview with People, York revealed that he’s battled ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease since he was 17, so he’s prepared to face his cancer diagnoses head-on. “It’s just another thing that I gotta now take care of,” he said.
“I went through life with colonoscopies, medicines, the whole thing, and always had to be under doctor’s care,” he shared, adding, “and living life. Everything’s good.”
It was through these regular check-ups that doctors discovered York’s cancer. After undergoing mild chemo in a pill form for a spot that wouldn’t heal, it was recommended he have a bone marrow biopsy. York remembered the doctor walking into the office, dropping his papers on the desk, and saying, “Is your wife available for a conference call?”
“I thought, ‘Well, that can’t be good,” York said. “She was a mess,” the actor continued, explaining how his wife Vicki was the one asking all the questions as the doctor “explained all these different things and cells… and words that have 25 letters in them.”
“And Vicki finally came out and said, ‘Does John have cancer?’ And [the doctor] said, ‘Yes.’ And I’m sitting there, I’m really just like a fly on the wall, listening to him talk to Vicki because she was the one asking all the questions.”
York said his only question at the time was, “Why do I feel so good?… 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.”
His chemo treatment was originally set to begin through UCLA but ended up happening at Vanderbilt after York and Vicki moved to Tennessee, where their daughter Sklyer lives with her family.
York went on to say that the IV chemo treatment has been an easy process. “You check in and you sit and you wait. It’s like waiting for a table at a restaurant almost. You know what I mean?” he explained. “It’s like about a 15-20 minute infusion for seven days in a row, and then 28 days after the first day of that infusion cycle. I had one in March, April, May, June, July, August, and now I’m gonna have another one coming up in September.”
He has also been moved up on the donor priority list to find a bone marrow donor. “I’m excited about that,” he said. “Many of my family members tested. I believe that the age range is like 18 to 40 to join the registry at bethematch.org/matchformac.”
As for General Hospital, York said he has been flying back and forth from Tennessee and Los Angeles, as his doctor hasn’t put any travel restrictions on him.
“My whole philosophy is one day at a time; whatever they need me to do,” York added. “Personally, I feel like it’s in God’s hands. God’s will be done. It’s gonna work out okay, one way or another. I’m either gonna survive or I’m not. And life goes on and things are gonna be okay for everybody… Let’s just go one day at a time.”
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