General Hospital's John J. York On Living With Cancer: 'One Day At A Time'

We should all take a page from "General Hospital" star John J. York's figurative book on how he approaches life. The soap actor has played Mac Scorpio since 1991 and has been integral to many of the sudser's hottest storylines over the decades. We recently questioned Mac's fate when York mysteriously announced he was taking a break from the show on X, formerly known as Twitter. We were distraught when he later confirmed a heartbreaking diagnosis that led to his hiatus — he has multiple smoldering myeloma and MDS, aka myelodysplastic syndromes — both of which are iterations of cancer.

Regarding his situation and treatment, York told People, "My whole philosophy is one day at a time; whatever they need me to do. Well, if I'm staying in a hospital, I'll stay in a hospital. If I can go home, I'll go home, where we have a place where I can be by myself, you know, away from the kids." York detailed that since he was 17, he's had to deal with various doctor visits due to ulcerative colitis. He noted, "I went through life with colonoscopies, medicines, the whole thing, and always had to be under doctor's care, and living life. Everything's good."

Because a red flag had been raised in October 2022 after a bone marrow biopsy, he had another appointment on December 9 of that year in which everything was laid out for him.

"General Hospital" star John J. York explained to People that his wife Vicki got on a conference call with him and his doctor. "[The doctor] was explaining all these different things and cells and all different levels and words that had, you know, 25 letters in them," he explained, adding that Vicki asked many questions, including, "'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." Because York's in great physical shape through diet and exercise, he asked, "Why do I feel so good?" The doctor replied that it was due to catching the cancer early.

York detailed the IV chemotherapy treatment he received over the course of several months, quipping, "It's like waiting for a table at a restaurant almost." His philosophy is to go about his life despite the diagnosis, and he is thrilled that he's close to finding a bone marrow match from a donor. Although Vicki was scared, York wasn't, "because I feel great. Personally, I feel like it's in God's hands. God's will be done. It's gonna work out okay, one way or another. I'm either gonna survive or I'm not." He further noted, "Life goes on, and things are gonna be okay for everybody."

York's outlook is truly inspiring, as he stated, "Let's just go one day at a time."