John J. York Teases 'General Hospital' Return Amid Cancer Battle
John J. York opened up about returning to General Hospital while battling two types of cancer.
“Everybody has been very welcoming, very supportive,” York, 65, told Good Morning America on Monday, June 17, about reprising his role as Mac Scorpio on the hit ABC soap opera. “I can’t tell you how nice it’s been, the support that I’ve gotten.”
He added, “I just felt so attached that I didn’t feel like I missed anything. I feel like I just had a little break, a little vacation, I guess, and had to go through something. And now we’re here on kind of the other side of it.”
York, who has appeared on General Hospital since 1991, will resurface on the Wednesday, June 19, episode. The actor took a break from the show after being diagnosed with myelodysplastic syndrome and smoldering multiple myeloma in late 2022.
Upon learning of his diagnosis, York was in a state of shock while talking to his doctor. “And I said, you know, ‘How long would I have if I did nothing?'” York recalled on Monday. “And he said, ‘Three to five years.’ And I was like, ‘Three to five years? Are you crazy? I feel fantastic.'”
York initially underwent one week of chemotherapy treatment in Tennessee. “Then I was available to work for two to three, usually three weeks in California,” he said. “My philosophy was always, ‘One day at a time. Let’s just get through today.’”
Last September, York got candid with fans about why he was taking a break from filming General Hospital.
“I said I was going to give you an update on the reason I’m taking a little hiatus from General Hospital and here it is,” York shared in a video posted via X, explaining that he was being treated for “two blood and bone marrow disorders.”
He continued: “Over the past many months, 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 in order to find a potential donor on their registry. … I just want to say thanks for all the support over the years. This isn’t goodbye, this is just so long. You know I’ll have to take a break for at least three, maybe four months, but I’ll be back.”
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While reflecting on his hiatus, York noted on Monday that “so many people” have joined the bone marrow donor registry “just to help save someone’s life” since he came forward about his health.
York spoke of one person on the registry who steered him onto a path of healing.
“She said we found an exact match,” York recalled to GMA. “And I just couldn’t talk. It’s just a little bag of, you know, blood and fluid, and they put it in my body 40 minutes later, and now, I’m this person and my cells are now fighting each other and battling each other and getting to know each other. And here we are back to work.”
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