1 month ago
Last Updated: March 29, 2024, 09:13 IST
Washington D.C., United States of America (USA)
Ninja, who boasts 19 million Twitch followers, shared his diagnosis in a post on X on Tuesday.
Twitch star Tyler "Ninja" Blevins shares his melanoma diagnosis, emphasizing the importance of routine skin checkups. Get insights on his journey and the rising trend of cancer
US Twitch star Tyler “Ninja” Blevins has announced that he was diagnosed with melanoma, a form of skin cancer. The 32-year-old gamer, who has over 19 million Twitch followers and 6.6 million on X, shared his diagnosis on Tuesday.
“Alright I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for me,” Blevins said in the post on X.
“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 added.
Alright I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for me. There was a mole on the bottom of my foot that they wanted to remove just to be careful. It…— Ninja (@Ninja) March 26, 2024
Blevins said that doctors also biopsied a second dark spot near the initial mole and removed a large area around the melanoma to determine whether they had successfully gotten all the cancerous tissue. “I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups,” he said in the post.
“I wanted to use my platform to shine light on the importance of routine skin checkups,” Blevins and his wife, Jessica Blevins, said in a statement to CNN. “We are feeling extremely optimistic and will keep everyone posted as we chat more with our doctors,” he said. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States; 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.
Blevins was diagnosed with melanoma, which is a rare type of skin cancer — only about 1 percent of skin cancer cases. However, accounts for a large majority of skin cancer deaths. Smoking, alcohol consumption, air pollution, obesity, a lack of physical activity and a diet with few fruits and vegetables are key risk factors for cancer, according to the World Health Organisation.
