‘General Hospital’ star John J. York reveals blood disorder diagnoses: ‘This isn’t goodbye’

Actor John J. York, best known for starring as Mac Scorpio on ABC’s “General Hospital,” revealed that he’s receiving treatment for two blood and bone marrow disorders.

Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Wednesday, the 64-year-old shared an update with fans a week after he announced that he’s “taking a brief hiatus” from the long-running series to focus on his health.

“I said I was going to give you an update on the reason I’m taking a little hiatus from ‘General Hospital’ and here it is,” the legendary soap star said in a video shared on the platform.

“So last December of ’22, I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma — two blood and bone marrow disorders.”

Myelodysplastic syndromes are a “group of cancers in which immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not mature or become healthy blood cells,” according to the National Cancer Institute.

The NCI notes that smoldering myeloma is a “precancerous condition that alters certain proteins in blood and/or increases plasma cells in bone marrow, but it does not cause symptoms of [myeloma] disease.”

In his video, York said that “over the past many months, I’ve had three bone marrow biopsies, many chemo treatments.”

York has “another one coming up in a couple of weeks, and I’m closing in on a blood stem cell transplant.”

Elsewhere, the actor said he’s “been working with some wonderful people at Be The Match to find a potential donor on their registry,” and urged his fans to do the same.

“I just want to say thanks for all the support over the years. This isn’t goodbye, this is just, ‘So long,’” he said. “I’ll have to take a break [from General Hospital] for at least three, maybe four months, But I’ll be back. Someone once said that, ‘I’ll be back,’” referring to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s famous movie line.

“Thanks a lot. Check out Be the Match. Do whatever you can. Thanks for your patience, thanks for your time, thanks for your prayers. I’ll keep you updated. Talk to you soon,” he added.

During his long-standing career in TV, York has appeared in nearly 650 episodes since his debut on the show in 1991.