Ninja, the professional video game player and most-followed Twitch streamer in the world, revealed he was diagnosed with skin cancer. The 32-year-old, who boasts 19 million Twitch followers, shared his diagnosis in a post on X on Tuesday.
“Alright, I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated. A few weeks ago I went into 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 came back as melanoma, but they are optimistic that we caught it in the early stages,” the professional gamer, whose real name is Richard Tyler Blevins, wrote on X.
He continued, ”I had another dark spot appear near it, so today they biopsied that and removed a larger area around the melanoma with the hopes that under the microscope they will see clear non-melanoma edges and we will know we got it. I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups.”
See the post here:
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
Twitch is a live streaming platform primarily focused on video games, but it also features streams covering various topics such as music, creative arts, cooking, and more.
Ninja first became a streamer in 2011 and played video games professionally. As per Fox News, the 32-year-old rose to fame in 2018, after he streamed on Twitch playing Fortnite with celebrities, such as rappers Drake and Travis Scott, and NFL player Juju Smith-Schuster. He left Twitch in 2019 for Microsoft’s short-lived streaming platform, Mixer. But he returned to Twitch in 2020 after Mixer shut down, NBC News reported. He’s earned millions of dollars through these platforms alongside international acclaim in streaming circles.
According to Mayo Clinic, Melanoma is a kind of skin cancer originating from melanocytes, the cells responsible for producing melanin pigment. Melanoma typically starts on skin that’s often exposed to the sun. Most melanomas are caused by exposure to ultraviolet light. The treatment of melanoma varies based on the stage it’s in, the American Cancer Society says.
