Minecraft YouTuber Technoblade, 22, Reveals He Almost Had His Right Arm Amputated as Part of Cancer Treatment, Opted for Limb-Salvage Surgery & is Doing Well Post-Op

"And so in early October, I'm talking to my surgeon and he's not coming out and saying this 100 percent, but the vibe I'm getting is that he thinks it's going to be necessary to amputate my right arm to actually get the cancer," Technoblade says in his latest video, entitled "I Almost Became An Amputee," uploaded on Dec. 23.

There was a lot of back and forth with his doctor about whether he would actually need to have his arm amputated, but his doctor ultimately presented him with two options: limb-salvage surgery, which would save his arm, or a complete amputation of the arm.

"My mom asks, 'If this is your child, what would you do?' And (the doctor) says, 'Yeah, I probably keep the arm,' and I'm like, 'Would amputating increase my survival loads compared to the other one?' And (the doctor) goes, 'No, not really,'" Technoblade says.

"Well, and why would anyone do that? Why was this presented as an option?" he says, adding that he decided to go with the first procedure option: a limb-salvage surgery, allowing him to keep his right arm.

Related: Minecraft YouTubers Technoblade, Who Has Cancer, and Ph1LzA, Surprise Fans With First-Time Meet-Up: 'Met an Old Man at the Park Today'

'The Worst Week of My Life'

When Technoblade awakened from his limb-salvage surgery, he says that he "proceeded to have the worst week of my life."

"I wake up and my right arm can't move, which is pretty expected. But what's less expected for me is that my left leg can't move either, it is covered in bandages," Technoblade says. "So basically I knew that to reconstruct my shoulder after the surgery, they needed to take some muscle and skin from elsewhere on the body, but I thought they were going to take the muscle from my back, from the latissimus dorsi."

"And I was fine with that because nobody cares about the latissimus dorsi, it's like, the most worthless muscle! But instead, they took it out of my quadriceps. That's like, my best muscle!"

So while his surgery did not go exactly as expected, Technoblade is doing well and recovering at home with both of his arms!

Technoblade's Cancer Diagnosis

On Aug. 27, Technoblade posted a video entitled "where I've been" to his YouTube channel. The 13-minute video shared some shocking news: Technoblade has cancer.

"In the last two days of July, I noticed that my right arm was starting to hurt a decent amount. My best guess was that it was some kind of repetitive stress injury because I'd been playing video games since the age of 5 pretty much non-stop," Technoblade says in the video. However, a few days of rest did not alleviate his pain, and he noticed a lot of swelling in his right shoulder.

In early August, Technoblade went to the doctor to get scans. It was then that he received his cancer diagnosis. "That really couldn't have gone worse," he says. The type and stage of Technoblade's cancer has not been made public.

Once the news broke, fans began using the hashtag, #technobladeneverdies, on YouTube and Twitter to show their support and love for the content creator. Some fans went as far as shaving their heads in solidarity with Technoblade, while others (and some fellow YouTubers) raised thousands of dollars for cancer research in Technoblade's name.

Related: #Technobladeneverdies: Fans of Minecraft YouTuber Technoblade Shave Their Heads, Raise Money to Support the Gamer With Cancer

Technoblade described waiting for the official diagnosis as a nerve-wracking process: "I want to see people sprinting, I want to see some urgency. There's this tumor on my arm, if you guys could just get rid of it right now … do what you got to do."

He has just completed chemotherapy, something he shared in his latest video, adding that his hair is starting to grow back.

The Benefits of Support During Cancer

This outpouring of love and support for Technoblade's cancer journey is something that all cancer patients need in their lives. Whether you are a loved one, a friend or a community member, being present for cancer patients can make a difference.

As breast cancer survivor Mindy Miller says, "I have found healing in community, I have found healing in mentorship, guiding other young women who are newly diagnosed. That's where we build solidarity, and through solidarity we have support, and through support, we don't feel alone anymore."

Breast cancer survivor Mindy Miller talks about the importance of support when it matters most.

Support can come in many forms, but one resource that can be extremely helpful is utilizing support networks. These can include friends, family, spouses and even faith communities. Having a solid support system in place makes the cancer battle more manageable. It can also be a great way for loved ones to cope.

For others, support systems may not manifest themselves as a support group, as survivor Bethany Kendal explains. Ultimately, it is about finding a community and activities that work best for you.

Cancer survivor Bethany Kendal learns to cope her own way after finding that cancer support groups did not work for her.

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