Popular video game streamer Ninja reveals skin cancer diagnosis

Video game streaming star Ninja has been diagnosed with skin cancer.

The popular internet personality, 32, whose real name is Tyler Blevins, announced the news March 26 on X, telling fans he was in "a bit of shock" to learn a mole on his foot was cancerous after undergoing a routine skin and mole check a few weeks ago.

"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," he wrote.

The professional gamer said he had another "dark spot" near the location of the mole biopsied, and had "a larger area around the melanoma" removed in hopes that that test will show "clear non-melanoma edges" and "we will know we got it."

A representative for Blevins did not immediately return a request for comment by NBC News.

Melanoma is a type of skin cancer that develops when melanocytes, or the cells that give the skin its tan or brown color, start to grow out of control, according the American Cancer Society.

Although melanoma is much less common than some other types of skin cancers, it’s more dangerous because it’s much more likely to spread to other parts of the body if not found and treated early, the American Cancer Society notes.

Blevins concluded his message by urging fans to undergo routine skin cancer screenings. "I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups," he wrote.

Blevins is the most popular person on the streaming platform Twitch, where he boasts more than 19 million followers and plays games like Fortnite. He has nearly 24 million followers on YouTube.

In 2019, Blevins appeared on the Fox reality singing competition "The Masked Singer."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com