Beloved YouTube creator and host of both the Crash Course & SciShow channels, Hank Green, has revealed he has cancer. In a video titled, “So, I’ve got cancer”, the 43-year-old explains his current health situation.
“Good news and bad news,” Hank begins in the nearly 14-minute upload to his VlogBrothers account — a project he started with brother John Green, the author of The Fault In Our Stars and Paper Towns.
“One, it’s cancer. Good news, it’s something called Hodgkin’s lymphoma.”
For context, the lymphatic system is, according to the Victorian Government’s Better Health site, “a network of delicate tubes throughout the body. It drains fluid (called lymph) that has leaked from the blood vessels into the tissues and empties it back into the bloodstream via the lymph nodes.”
A delightful visual for you all there…
“It’s one of the most treatable cancers. It responds very well to treatment,” he continues.
“The goal is cure. The procedure to get there is fairly well known, if unpleasant,” admits Hank, before explaining that he’ll begin chemotherapy soon.
Later in the video, the YouTuber goes on to share that he has a friend who survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The friend has been living a healthy life post-treatment for 10 years which is super encouraging.
Just one day after being uploaded, the video has already raked in 4.7 million views at the time of writing.
The overall tone of the video is surprisingly upbeat, considering the content. However, it’s also fairly typical of the style we’ve come to expect from Hank over the years.
Hank does flag later in the video that he has had deeper, more philosophical thoughts about what the diagnoses means for him and his family, but has chosen not to share that with his wider audience at this time which is totally fair.
Get well soon, Hank!
As a parting gift, here’s my favourite Crash Course video that definitely got me through multiple assignments in high school science.
