General Hospital Star John J. York Reveals the Heartbreaking Reason for His Hiatus — Watch Video

General Hospital veteran John J. York announced earlier this month that he’d be taking a hiatus from the ABC daytime soap — and now we know why.

York revealed that he’s dealing with some serious health issues in a video he shared on social media on Wednesday: “I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, and [smoldering multiple] myeloma, two blood and bone marrow disorders. Over the past many months, I’ve had three bone marrow biopsies, many chemo treatments — I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks — and I’m closing in on a blood stem cell transplant.” (Soaps.com first reported the news.)

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York asked fans to consider seeing if they could possibly be a match to be a donor and also thanked them “for all the support over the years,” adding: “This isn’t goodbye. This is just ‘So long!'” He did note that he’ll “have to take a break for at least three, maybe four months” from GH, but he vowed: “I’ll be back.”

York plays Mac Scorpio on General Hospital, a role he’s played since 1991. He also reprised the role on Port Charles and All My Children. His other TV credits include Castle and Veronica Mars.

Press PLAY below to watch York’s message to fans:

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