Ninja, a popular influencer and streamer on Twitch, has been diagnosed with skin cancer. 

In a statement posted to his social media accounts on Wednesday, the 32-year-old content creator — whose real name is Tyler Blevins — revealed his diagnosis with melanoma following a recent checkup he scheduled for a mole. 

The streamer, who boasts 6.6 million followers on X (formerly known as Twitter) and some 19 million followers on Twitch, wrote in his post that while he is “still in a bit of shock” regarding the health update, he wanted to spread the word and keep his fans in the know. 

“A few weeks ago I went in to a dermatologist for an annual skin/mole check that Jess proactively scheduled for me,” he wrote, referencing Jessica Blevins, his wife of six years. “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.”

He adds, “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.” 

In closing, the gamer and influencer reminded his followers to take their health seriously and get their own skin checked in order to get ahead of any potentially dangerous or cancerous growths. 

“I’m grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups,” Ninja shared. 

In response, the streamer’s millions of fans chimed in with their well wishes and own messages reminding people to get their skin checked frequently. 

“I was a medical assistant in dermatology for 3 years, and I encourage all of you to go to a dermatologist for any concerning skin lesions, or yearly if you are over the age of 40,” one fan wrote in a quote tweet. 

“GET SKIN CHECKUPS!!!!! It is so extremely important. My last one I had removed was one stage away from melanoma,” another added. 

According to the Cleveland Clinic, melanoma is the most invasive and deadly form of skin cancer and makes up roughly 1% of cases worldwide. While melanoma is a rare form, skin cancer as a whole is incredibly common and some 5.4 million new cases are discovered each year. 

Additionally, the Skin Cancer Foundation reports that celebrities like Hugh Jackman, Khloé Kardashian, Witney Carson, Teddi Mellencamp and Andy Cohen have all dealt with skin cancer at some point in their lives. 

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