Beloved YouTuber Honored For Work Raising Money For Sarcoma Research
- Over the course of nine years on YouTube, Minecraft player Technoblade grew his channel to 13.5 million subscribers and amassed over 1 billion views.
- Technoblade, who only revealed that his first name is Alex, first announced he was battling sarcoma on his channel. He detailed his struggle with treatment options, including why he opted against amputation of his arm.
- Sarcoma is often called the hidden cancer. Although somewhat rare, amounting to only 1 per cent of adult cancer diagnoses, the cancer is deadly because it’s often hard to detect until it’s too late to cure.
The YouTuber known only as Technoblade – he revealed on his channel that his first name was Alex, but didn't give his last name – had grown extremely popular playing the game Minecraft. Over nine years on the platform, he had grown his audience to over 13.5 million subscribers and had over a billion total views.
Read MoreSharing His Journey With His Fans
He first told his fans he had cancer in August, 2021 and had been using his channel to raise money for the Sarcoma Foundation of America. According to Sportskeeda, Alex said in a video that the first sign of his illness came when he developed a pain in his hand that he initially brushed off as a repeated stress disorder. But when he visited a doctor, he was given the bad news.“August 2nd I headed over to the doctor to see what was wrong and they ran a couple of scans and then they came back. They told me that, uh, the reason my arm hurts is because I have cancer," he said.
Because of his dedication, which raised hundreds of thousands of dollars, the SFA announced they would give Technoblade their Courage Award.
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The Forgotten Cancer
Often called "the forgotten cancer," sarcoma isn't a single type of cancer but a family of more than 70 different types. Sarcomas begin in the bones and soft, connective tissues of the body like muscle, fat, blood vessels, nerves and tendons, according to the American Cancer Society.
One major challenge of sarcoma is that since most of the tissues where it occurs are deep in the body, they can be hard to detect until they've grown past the point of being able to be cured. Signs of sarcoma include
- A lump that can be felt through the skin
- Bone pain
- Bones that break even though the cause might seem minor
- Abdominal pain
- Weight loss
These cancers are relatively rare, with just over 13,000 cases expected to be diagnosed in the United States in 2022, according to the American Cancer Society, with over 5,000 people predicted to die of the disease. Those cases make up less than one per cent of adult cancers, says the Sarcoma Foundation of America.
Little is known about what causes a sarcoma to occur, though the Mayo Clinic says that like other cancers, they are due to mutations in a person's DNA that cause cells to grow and divide uncontrollably.
What Is The Treatment For Sarcoma?
Treatment for sarcoma can vary widely. Radiation therapy, chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy are all options that a doctor may recommend. Given the numerous types of different illnesses that fall under the sarcoma title, a doctor’s recommendation can depend on a number of factors.
“I think within sarcomas, I think one of the biggest things that we’ve shown recently is not necessarily even a particular therapy, but I think we’ve shown the ability to take sarcomas… and instead of clustering them and treating them all as one disease, which we know that
they’re not… we can take a subtype of sarcoma and treat and test and study a particular subtype,” said Dr. Dale Shepard, specialist in Hematology and Medical Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic.
“Patients with sarcoma, I think the biggest issue really is make sure that you’re being seen by someone who has some familiarity with sarcomas,” he added. Make sure that you know what’s being treated.”
Surgery can be suggested, with the goal being to remove as much of the cancerous tissue as possible. Because many sarcomas occur in the connective tissues of the limbs, amputation may sometimes be discussed.
That was the case for Technoblade, who said in a video that after discussing that option with his family and doctors, he ultimately decided against it.
“I’m like, would amputating increase my survival odds compared to the other one? And he goes, ‘no, not really,'" he said. "Well then why would anyone do that? Why was this presented as an option? So yeah…"
Tributes Pour In
Unfortunately, Technoblade died of his cancer in July. In a final video, he wished his legions of fans well and thanked them for the support they had offered throughout his cancer journey.
Fans, friends and fellow YouTubers shared tributes and condolences for the content creator’s family on YouTube and other platforms
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