YouTube star Joey Graceffa has announced to his 472,000 followers on TikTok that he’s been diagnosed with skin cancer.
The 33-year-old social media influencer uploaded a four-minute-long video telling his story and his treatment plan for the red mark on his nose which he has had between 18 months and two years.
He began the video: ‘So I have skin cancer, um, that’s fun. No it’s not fun at all actually, you can see it right there on my nose. It looks really crazy right now because I had to get a biopsy done to determine that it was skin cancer.’
He explained that he showed ‘several dermatologists’ the mark and was told it was a ‘broken blood vessel’.
When the mark scabbed over he decided to have it checked once more and was sent to get a biopsy.
‘I literally passed out in the chair when the biopsy happened,’ Joey added.
‘Not because it hurt or anything but just because I am so queasy when it comes to anything gore or blood-related. I have a vivid imagination and I was imagining what it looked like.’
He then explained the treatment options before him. He confirmed that the doctor suggested Moh’s surgery [which is a surgical method for treating skin cancer lesions].
Joey continued: ‘[It’s] basically just cutting it out of my nose. When she was explaining I was passing out on the phone.’ The surgery could take up to three hours.
Adding: ‘If I passed out just 40 seconds of the biopsy how am I going to last 45 minutes?’
He also revealed he was exploring ‘natural treatments such as ‘castor oil’ and ‘aloe vera’ and was ‘really considering radiation treatment.’
The online star concluded: ‘This is all very new to me and I’m not freaking out, like maybe I should be. I don’t know. I’m being very level-headed about this, I think because it’s a more treatable type of skin cancer. It’s the basal cell.
‘I’m just living my positive life with skin cancer on my nose. So, just figured I would document this process if anyone else is going through this. I’m there with you and maybe we can get through this together.’
What is skin cancer?
There are two types of skin cancer, according to the NHS website – melanoma and non-melanoma.
The main cause of melenoma skin cancer is ultra violet light and risks spreading to other parts of the body.
Non-melanoma skin cancer, which is the category Joey falls under, is the more common type of skin cancer that ‘starts in the top layer of the skin’.
Fans took to the comments to share solidarity, their personal cancer stories and offer advice.
‘Damn this is so unexpected, I’ve been watching you since I was a kid, sending love,’ @z wrote.
‘So sorry to hear this Joey, I’m glad it sounds easily curable but of course no fun whatsoever to have this happen, you go this!’ TikTok creator Adorian Deck wrote.
‘I wish you all the best and a speedy recovery,’ @escapethenight added.
Joey started his YouTube career in 2009 at the age of 16 and has accumulated 9.3million subscribers and a loyal fanbase.
According to his channel description, he creates ‘entertaining content from vlogs, lifestyle tips, animal content, social experiments and content catered not just for the LGBTQ community but for everyone.’
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