Twitch Star Ninja 'in a Bit of Shock' After Skin Cancer Diagnosis
The popular Twitch star Ninja revealed to fans that he’s been diagnosed with skin cancer.
“Alright I’m still in a bit of shock but want to keep you all updated,” Ninja, 32, began in a lengthy X post on Tuesday, March 26. “A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that [my wife] Jess [Blevins] 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 internet personality (real name Tyler Blevins) went on to share that another “dark spot” near the mole was removed on Tuesday, as well as “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.”
Ninja concluded his post by saying he’s “grateful to have hope in finding this early” before encouraging his fans to “please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups.” He also shared a screenshot of the post via his Instagram Story on Tuesday.
Summer House’s Jesse Solomon Opens Up About Testicular Cancer Journey
Several fans sent well-wishes to the Ninja in the tweet’s comments. “Hoping for the best. Lots of love to Jess for being proactive as well
,” his fellow Twitch streamer SypherPKwrote on Tuesday, while the Detroit Lions official X account commented, “Thinking of you @Ninja, get well soon
.”
Ninja has made a name for himself in the gaming world as one of Twitch’s biggest stars, amassing over 19 million followers on the video game streaming platform. He also uploads gaming videos via YouTube, where he has built a following of over 23 million subscribers.
Outside of gaming, Ninja currently hosts the “AFK w/ Ninja” podcast, where he discusses the latest internet and video game trends and chats with fellow content creators. In 2019, he competed as Ice Cream on season 2 of The Masked Singer and coauthored a graphic novel, Ninja: The Most Dangerous Game, with Justin Jordan.
Ninja also made history as the first gamer to grace the cover of ESPN Magazine in September 2018. “When I’m not streaming, I have time to reflect on all the growth, and I don’t like that. I’d rather just be home playing,” he shared in his interview. “I’m like, ‘I haven’t played a celebrity in a while. I haven’t done something big in a while. Is it because I’m slowing down?’ When I’m home, there’s no time to think about that.”
Stars Who Beat Breast Cancer: Linda Evangelista, Cynthia Nixon and More
He went on to state that he plans to continue his streaming career until his “family is taken care of,” explaining, “Say this ends tomorrow, we don’t have enough for the rest of our lives. I tell Jess, ‘Honey, we’re not going to have that much quality time this year, or even next year. But if we do this right and I continue to grind for a couple more years, we can set ourselves up, and our family and our family’s family, for the rest of our lives.’”
Ninja’s health news comes amid a slew of celebrity cancer announcements. King Charles III and Princess Kate Middleton are each battling unspecified forms of cancer, while Sarah Ferguson announced her skin cancer diagnosis in January. Additionally, actresses Olivia Munn and Nicole Eggert and ESPN reporter Hannah Storm all recently revealed they have been diagnosed with breast cancer.
