'Ninja,' MI-Born Gaming Superstar, Diagnosed With Cancer

DETROIT, MI — 'Ninja,' the Detroit-born Twitch streamer and YouTube star who has amassed more than 19 million followers of his gaming content, has been diagnosed with skin cancer, he announced on X Tuesday.

"I'm still in a bit of shock," The 32-year-old, real name Tyler Blevins, began in his message to fans.

Blevins said he received the diagnosis after visiting a dermatologist "a few weeks ago" for an annual skin and mole check. At the appointment, doctors found a mole at the bottom of his foot that they wanted to remove "just to be careful," he added.

According to Blevins, that mole came back as melanoma, which the American Academy of Dermatology Association describes as a serious and aggressive form of skin cancer that can spread from the skin to other parts of the body.

"They are optimistic that we caught it in the early stages," Blevins wrote. "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."

Fortunately, when caught early, melanoma is highly treatable, according to the AADA. Type of treatment varies depending factors like how deeply the cancer has grown into the skin and whether it has spread, but ranges from excision to surgery to radiation and/or chemotherapy, the association said.

"I'm grateful to have hope in finding this early, but please take this as a PSA to get skin checkups," Blevins said.

To prevent skin cancer and catch it early if prevent, the American Cancer Society recommends you learn to recognize the signs of skin cancer and routinely perform skin self-exams.

"The first time you examine your skin, spend time carefully going over the entire surface," the American Cancer Society suggests. "Learn the pattern of moles, blemishes, freckles, and other marks on your skin so that you’ll notice any changes next time. Be sure to show your doctor any areas that concern you."

Blevins became a streamer in 2011 first with Justin.tv, then moved to Twitch.tv. He is perhaps best known for streaming gameplay of Fortnite; he set the Twitch.tv viewing record for a single individual stream hosting a game with Drake, Travis Scott, and JuJu Smith-Schuster in March 2018 before breaking his own record a month later.