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General Hospital’s John J. York On His Health Battle & Living Life While Waiting for Bone Marrow Transplant: “Let’s Just Go One Day At a Time”

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: JPI

John J. York’s positive outlook on his current medical diagnosis is quite remarkable, as his approach might be one many facing the same circumstances might consider.  The beloved General Hospital vet, where he has played Mac Scorpio for 32 years, revealed last week that he is battling cancer.

The popular soap star shared that he has been fighting myelodysplastic syndromes, or MDS, and multiple smoldering myeloma: two blood and bone marrow disorders.

York spoke with PEOPLE about how he found out about his diagnosis, the support his wife Vicki has shown throughout, and how he lives life day to day, while he waits for an all-important bone marrow transplant.

Photo: JPI

The actor shared what happened the moment he learned of his diagnosis: “(The doctor) was explaining all these different things and cells and all different levels and words that had, you know, 25 letters in them. And I didn’t understand. And Vicki finally came out and said, ‘Does John have cancer?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ And I’m sitting there, I’m really just like a fly on the wall, listening to him talk to Vicki because she was the one asking all the questions.  At the end of his doctor’s conversation with Vicki, York’s one question was simple: ‘Why do I feel so good?’”

Vicki and John were in the process of moving to Tennessee to be closer to their daughter, Skyler, but considering UCLA in Los Angeles as John’s treatment center.  In the end, Skyler’s husband suggested Vanderbilt University for John’s cancer center so he did not have to travel back and forth to the west coast.

Since March of this year, John has had IV chemo treatments every month, with another one coming up in September. On that, John expressed: “It is what it’s, you know what I mean? And then everybody’s gotta get their treatment. And then you go home, go about your life and you play with the kids. And here we are.”

Currently, York is waiting for a bone marrow transplant. He has been moved up the donor priority list. If anyone is interested, and you are between 18-40, you can join the registry here bethematch.org/matchformac.

Photo: JohnJYorkX

York shared how Vicki is coping with what’s ahead: “Yeah, she’s scared, but believe it or not, I really kinda wasn’t because I feel great. Personally, I feel like it’s in God’s hands. God’s will be done. It’s gonna work out okay, one way or another. I’m either gonna survive or I’m not. And life goes on and things are gonna be okay for everybody… Let’s just go one day at a time.”

Share your well-wishes, and support and love to John, as he goes through the next phase of his health battle and let’s hope a bone marrow transplant donor is found for him soon. After all, we all want to see Mac Scorpio return to Port Charles, but more importantly, we all want John to feel better and beat this.Comment below.

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I admire John’s positive outlook on what is a terrible situation, and I love that he’s using his name to raise awareness for the need for donors. I’m outside the 18-40 age demographic, but I would be happy to make a donation.

My thoughts are with him. I hope he gets the bone marrow donor he needs, beats this thing, and we see Mac Scorpio continue on GH for many years to come. Lord knows that Port Charles needs the good guys like Mac around.

Btw, he debuted on GH in 1991, so he’s been playing Mac for 32 years, not 22 years.

Mr. York: Thank you for sharing your story with your Prayers on you and your family as the journey continues to find a bone marrow match. Your positivity is amazing and you are in good hands at the place you are getting your treatments. Best In Tennessee for that kind of care.

What courage!! Prayers!! May the Lord help you beat this, John.❤️

What a wonderful positive attitude. We love you John. You are your lovely family are in my prayers daily.

My husband (67 Birthday Jan 15th) is also fighting MDS – we just finished 3rd round of chemo and he also feels pretty good which makes it easier for our kids and grandkids that pops doesn’t look sick. Thank you for bringing the need for donors to the forefront. We also are trying to find a donor. Our prayers are with you and your family! God is good and has a plan (Jeremiah 29:11) Our favorite vs 1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Beyond the Gates

RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers

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Beyond the Gates and General Hospital

The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.

According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.

Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.

Photo: CBS

MORE BY THE NUMBERS

In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .

BEYOND THE GATES

Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:

Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).

Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.

Photo: ABC

GENERAL HOSPITAL

Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:

Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.

Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.

Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.

Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a  benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.

However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.

So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.

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General Hospital

Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run

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Antonio Sabato Jr.

Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.

Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU  Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.

The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”

Jack Sabato

Photo: NBC

Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”

He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”

The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”

Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.

Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.

This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.

So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.

 

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A post shared by Antonio Sabato Jr (@antoniosabatojr)

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General Hospital

‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos

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Ayla Bullington

Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.

In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.

She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’” 

Josslyn

Photo: ABC

THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH

Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’

The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.” 

The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.

As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”

So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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