YouTuber Ninja reveals heartbreaking cancer diagnosis
Popular YouTuber Ninja has revealed a heartbreaking cancer diagnosis to his fans.
The gaming influencer, also known as Tyler Blevins, took to X to make the announcement.
"Alright I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for me," he wrote.
"There was a mole on the bottom of my foot that they wanted to remove just to be careful.
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"It came back as melanoma, but they are optimistic that we caught it in the early stages."
He contained: "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."
Ninja's wife, Jessica Blevins, has also taken to X following the announcement.
She penned: "Crazy butterfly effect moment-I probably wouldn’t have started scheduling annual skin checkups yet if we didn’t move to Florida. Foot melanoma is not sun-related, so it would have been there anyways and we might not have found it. Thank God.
"Also, thank you for your outpouring love. I’m here to be strong for @Ninja
and give him all the help and support he needs! We feel strong knowing God is walking with us through all of this!"
For those unaware, melanoma is a type of skin cancer that can spread to other parts of the body.
Typically, the cause of the cancer is exposure to ultraviolet light from sources such as the sun.
However, age, paleness of skin, moles and a family history of the disease are all potential factors in the potential development of melanoma.
Surgery is a common treatment for the skin cancer, though that is very much dependent on how widespread and progressed the cancer is.
In Ninja's case, the link between sunlight and melanoma on the foot is unclear.
Particularly because it's an area of the body that's far less exposed to UV.
Many have flocked to the comments section of Ninja's X post to wish him well.
"Praying for you Tyler. W Jess for making that get looked at," one person wrote.
"Hoping for the best. Lots of love to Jess for being proactive as well," a second added.
Callum Jones