TikTok favourite Hank Green announces he has cancer, asks fans to send him photos of pelicans

TikTok’s favourite science guy and YouTube icon Hank Green announced Friday he has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that affects the blood.

“So, I’ve got cancer,” the 43-year-old titled a YouTube video announcing his diagnosis, in which he describes how over the past few weeks it has become “more and more real.”

Green said he noticed his lymph nodes were enlarged, and brought himself in to see a doctor who sent him for an ultrasound to figure out the cause. During the ultrasound, Green said the technician went to find a doctor, which is “not what you want to have happen,” he said, explaining it typically means bad news is to come — and, in this case, to come quickly given the speed from his diagnosis to treatment.

“When you’re in the American health care system, you don’t expect things to move quickly,” he said. “And when it starts to get a little bit efficient, it’s actually quite disconcerting.”

The good news, according to Green, is that Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a relatively easy cancer to treat. The bad? The treatment is “fairly unpleasant” and includes chemotherapy, which he said begins “literally as this video goes live” and should last for at least four months.

Here’s what is known about Hodgkin’s lymphoma, and, for those unfamiliar, who Hank Green is.

What is Hodgkin’s lymphoma?

According to Mayo Clinic, Hodgkin’s lymphoma is a cancer than affects the lymphatic system, or the system responsible for the body’s immune system.

With this type of cancer, white blood cells “grow out of control,” causing lymph nodes to swell and growths throughout the body. The average age of people when they are diagnosed, according to the American Cancer Society, is 39, but both children and adults can develop the disease, it being the most common cancer diagnosis for those 15 to 19 years old.

It’s not clear what causes the disease, but it begins when white blood cells develop changes to their DNA, with the changes telling the cells to multiply rapidly and increasing their life span. The cells then crowd the lymph nodes causing swelling and other symptoms.

There are a few types of Hodgkin’s lymphoma, characterized by the cells involved and their behaviour, including classical Hodgkin’s lymphoma — a more common type of the disease — and nodular lymphocyte-predominant Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which is more rare.

Symptoms typically present as painless swelling of lymph nodes in the neck, armpits or groin, fatigue, fevers, night sweats, weight loss, severe itching and pain in the lymph nodes after consuming alcohol.

Treatments to combat the disease include chemotherapy, radiation therapy, bone marrow transplants and other drug therapies.

The American Cancer Society says Hodgkin’s lymphoma five-year survival rates range from 83 to 95 per cent, but average out to 89 per cent. American Cancer Society also notes these figures are relative, and individual outcomes depend on the overall health of the individual diagnosed.

It estimated about 8,830 new cases of Hodgkin’s lymphoma are to be diagnosed in the United States in 2023, and around 900 people will die from such.

Who is Hank Green?

Hank Green is an author, science communicator and online personality known, in part, for his hosting of Crash Course, a YouTube channel that produces educational videos on everything from organic chemistry to theatre. He also produces Vlogbrothers on YouTube with his brother, John Green, the author of many young-adult novels and film adaptations like “The Fault in our Stars” and “Looking for Alaska.”

“Some important news from Hank,” John wrote on Twitter Friday, sharing a link to his brother’s YouTube video about the diagnosis. “My little brother is my closest collaborator, oldest friend, and my absolute hero. Thank you for loving him as I do, and supporting us — and each other — in a tough time.”

More recently, Hank has become a sensation on TikTok posting videos about social issues and science, and was named a top creator on the platform by the New York Times.

With the sense of humour his fans have come to know and love, Hank tweeted on Friday “SEND ME PELICANS IM GETTING CHEMO,” and his supporters unsurprisingly and quickly obliged.

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