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General Hospital<\/em> <\/a>star John J. York<\/strong> opened up about being diagnosed with a blood and bone marrow disorder \u2014 and having to take a break on the show he has appeared on since 1991.<\/p>\n \u201cI said I was going to give you an update on the reason I\u2019m taking a little hiatus from General Hospital<\/em> and here it is,\u201d York, 64 \u2014 who portrays Malcolm Scorpio on the daytime soap opera \u2014 shared in a video posted to X<\/a> (formerly Twitter) on Wednesday, September 13. \u201cSo last December 2022, I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma \u2014 two blood and bone marrow disorders.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the National Cancer Institute<\/a>, myelodysplastic syndromes are a group of cancers that occur when immature blood cells in the bone marrow do not become healthy blood cells. Multiple smoldering myeloma is a precancerous condition that alters certain proteins in blood and can increase plasma cells in bone marrow, per the outlet<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cOver the past many months, I\u2019ve had three bone marrow biopsies, many chemo treatments \u2014 I have another one coming up in a couple of weeks \u2014 and I\u2019m closing in on a blood stem cell transplant,\u201d the actor continued. \u201cI\u2019ve been working with some wonderful people at Be the Match in order to find a potential donor on their registry. \u2026 I just want to say thanks for all the support over the years. This isn\u2019t goodbye, this is just so long. You know I\u2019ll have to take a break for at least three, maybe four months, but I\u2019ll be back.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, September 22, York revealed that he has received some promising news in regards to finding a donor.<\/p>\n \u201cI believe they found a match, a perfect match, which will make me cry,\u201d he shared on Good Morning America<\/em><\/a>. \u201cSo we\u2019re going to start our testing and all that kind of stuff coming up here, in about a week. I believe the transplant will happen in November.\u201d<\/p>\n York got emotional when talking about what he would say to the potential donor.<\/p>\n \u201cThank you for saving my life. For letting me spend more time with my wife, my daughter, my son-in-law, my grandchildren, seeing this beautiful blue sky,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n News of York\u2019s potential donor comes shortly after his General Hospital<\/em> costar Billy Miller<\/a> \u2014 who appeared as Jason Morgan and Drew Cain on the daytime soap \u2014 died by suicide<\/a> at on Friday, September 15. He was 43. A rep confirmed to Us Weekly<\/em> that Miller had been struggling with manic depression at the time of his death. Miller\u2019s mother, Patricia Miller<\/strong>, shared that her son had battled bipolar depression for years.<\/p>\n Following the tragic news, General Hospital<\/em> star Maurice Benard<\/strong> \u2014 who plays Sonny Corinthos on the show \u2014 opened up about mental health<\/a> in an important message to fans.<\/p>\n \u201cSince the pandemic, I have been speaking out on suicide quite a lot,\u201d Bernard, 60, shared via Instagram<\/a> on Tuesday, September 19. \u201cIn the beginning, I was hesitant. I didn\u2019t know how people would handle it. But it\u2019s been very encouraging so I have not stopped talking about it! It\u2019s really hard to understand mental illness unless you have experienced the depths of pain that comes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\n John J. York and Josh Kelly on \u2018General Hospital.\u2019<\/span> ABC\/Christine Bartolucci<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n