Actor John J. York is better known as the character he portrays on the soap opera “General Hospital.” He has stared as Mac Sporpio for the past 22 years, but recently he has been noticeably absent from the show.

In a video posted to X (formerly Twitter), York explained to his fans why his hasn’t been on the show recently and when they might expect to see him back.

York started the video by explaining that he’s giving an update about why he’s “taking a little hiatus from ‘General Hospital.'” Then he opened up about his health struggles over the past year.

He said, “Last December of ’22 I was diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome or MDS and multiple smoldering myeloma.” He explained that both of these medical conditions are blood marrow disorders. Both of these medical conditions are also considered cancers. 

York has been working with his doctors to treat these serious medical conditions. He explained, “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. I’ve been working with some wonderful people at Be the Match to find a potential donor on their registry.”

Then he urged anyone watching to consider joining the registry at Be the Match to help anyone, including him, who needs a blood stem cell transplant. Just go to bethematch.org/matchformac

The actor ended his message by thanking his fans for their “support over the years” and added, “This isn’t ‘goodbye.’ It’s just ‘so long.'” He made it clear that he does plan on returning to “General Hospital” but will need to “take a break for at least 3 maybe 4 months.” He promised, “I’ll be back.”

York also spoke to PEOPLE about his diagnosis and explained, “It’s just another thing that I gotta now take care of.”

Since the age of 17 years old, York has battled both ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease, so he’s not new to health battles. He shared, “I went through life with colonoscopies, medicines, the whole thing, and always had to be under doctor’s care.”

York also went into more details about the doctor’s appointment in December when he found out he had cancer. The doctor called York’s wife, Vicki, and put her on speakerphone so she could hear the news at the same time.

York explained that the doctor “was explaining all these different things and cells and all different levels and words that had, you know, 25 letters in them. And I didn’t understand. And Vicki finally came out and said, ‘Does John have cancer?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And I’m sitting there, I’m really just like a fly on the wall, listening to him talk to Vicki because she was the one asking all the questions.”

Thankfully, the doctors caught York’s cancer early, and he’s choosing to stay positive. He explained, “My whole philosophy is one day at a time; whatever they need me to do.”

Watch the video below for more details about York’s diagnosis.