YouTube star Hank Green shares cancer diagnosis

Science communicator, author, and YouTuber Hank Green announced in a video that he's been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma, a blood cancer.

In the YouTube video, the 43-year-old told the story of his diagnosis.

"When you're in the American health care system, you don't expect things to move quick," he said, recounting getting tested. "When it starts to get a little efficient, it's actually quite disconcerting."

He was right to be disconcerted — the tests came back quickly and positive for cancer. Still, Green was hopeful, explaining that the type of lymphoma he has is very treatable, and that it seems likely at this point that it was caught early.

In what he characterized as a "very Hank Green thought," he added "this is the best time in human history to get lymphoma."

Green is a very busy creator. He's been active on YouTube since 2007, and currently hosts multiple podcasts along with a TikTok account. He doesn't know exactly what this diagnosis will mean for these projects, except to say he knows his audience will be OK with him taking breaks. He also directed people to his newsletter — which will be easier for him to keep up with during chemo.

Toward the end of the video Green adds that he has two requests for his audience. First, to not give him health care advice. And second, to give him suggestions for movies, TV and video games that are "not heavy at all, like no emotion... really dumb things that could not make anyone cry."

And so, an incomplete list of really dumb things that could not make anyone cry:

A gentle book about gentle people: Leonard and Hungry Paul

For a feel-good re-watch: Clueless

For farming and soothing tunes: Stardew Valley

For seeing Lee Pace solve crimes and bake pies: Pushing Daisies

The most kind and happy thriller anyone could write about stealing kidneys: Cut and Run

[Copyright 2023 NPR]