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Topics: Cancer, Health, Mental Health, YouTube, Social Media, Celebrity
Poppy Bilderbeck
Topics: Cancer, Health, Mental Health, YouTube, Social Media, Celebrity
Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
YouTuber Ninja has taken to social media to reveal the latest update surrounding his health after being diagnosed with cancer.
Ninja - whose real name is Richard Tyler Blevins - first revealed he'd been diagnosed with cancer earlier this year in March.
In a post to X on March 26, the professional gamer and online streamer with over 19 million followers on Twitch and over 23 million subscribers on YouTube let followers know he'd been diagnosed with melanoma - skin cancer.
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The 32-year-old explained he was 'still in a bit of shock' but wanted to 'keep you all updated' that a 'few weeks' before he went to a dermatologist for an 'annual skin/mole check' that fellow streamer and influencer - and also his wife - Jessica Blevins 'proactively scheduled for [him]'.
He continued: "There was a mole on the bottom of my foot that they wanted to remove just to be careful. It came back as melanoma, but they are optimistic that we caught it in the early stages.
"I had another dark spot appear near it, so today they biopsied that and removed a larger area around the melanoma with the hopes that under the microscope they will see clear non-melanoma edges and we will know we got it. I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups."
And Ninja has since released the latest update on his cancer journey.
Ninja took to his X account yesterday (April 4) to share the update with his fans and followers.
The post reads: "Just got the news from my dermatologist, Great news x two!
"Excision was successful with clear margins. Lesion biopsied nearby showed only mild atypia and was entirely removed with the biopsy. As of right now, I am officially cancer free ^_^ thank you all for the prayers and kind words this last week.
"Love you all."
And it's not taken long for people to flood to the update in support of the star.
One user said: "So glad to hear for you and the fam."
"WOOOO LETS GOOOOOO," another added.
A third commented: "THAT’S INCREDIBLE NEWS! Blessings!! So happy for you and fam!!."
And a fourth wrote: "Great news. Definitely makes me want to check on some moles."
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.