In typical Hank Green fashion, Hank Green is preparing to share his cancer journey—in the form of a standup comedy show. Hank and his brother John Green first rose to fame in 2007 for their Vlogbrothers channel on YouTube. The pair would solidify their status as YouTube legends with their education CrashCourse channel and the founding of VidCon. However, they have also been developing their solo careers, with John becoming a prominent YA author and Hank becoming a published author, creating his education science channel SciShow, and embarking on numerous podcast, YouTube, and philanthropic ventures.
In addition to his multiple YouTube channels, Hank also boasts an enormous following on TikTok, where he frequently does hilarious stitches answering users’ most obscure scientific questions and jokes about his infatuation with the Roman Empire. On May 19, 2023, though, he posted a very sobering personal update on Vlogbrothers, in which he revealed that he had been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma. However, his characteristic humor still shined through as he candidly discussed his diagnosis and how it first hit him that it was serious when the American healthcare system started acting efficiently.
His scientific mind was also on display as he shared that “this is the best time in human history to get lymphoma.” While he felt optimistic about how treatable Hodgkin’s lymphoma can be, he was still honest about his fears and the stress he felt at his diagnosis. Since then, he has given several updates about his experiences with chemotherapy, though he understandably scaled back on posting during his treatment. Fortunately, he returned on August 25 to announce that he was in complete remission. Now, it seems he’s ready to open up about his cancer journey in a very Hank Green kind of way.
Hank Green announces stand-up comedy show
On September 14, Hank revealed that he has been working on a stand-up comedy show about cancer for the past two months. Since July, he has been given pieces of his “unpolished and raw” show to audiences in Missoula, but now he’s taking the show to upstate New York in October. The show is called “Hank Green: Pissing Out Cancer” and will delve (comedically) into the science and experience of cancer treatment. Hank has only described the show as “very, very weird” but noticed that people in Missoula seemed to be having a good time with it, so now he’s expanding it.
While comedy about cancer might seem a bit unusual to some, it seems perfectly fitting for Green. He is one of those creators who can seemingly do everything. His inventive mind is able to spin every thought, experience, and idea into a full-fledged project, most of which prove to be very entertaining, educational, and helpful for others. Meanwhile, even though he thinks the show will be “weird,” it’s highly likely it will be more beneficial than weird. Many users have already left comments for Hank detailing how his cancer journey inspired and helped keep them grounded due to his positive outlook and ability to find humor in his situation. Others have also noted that he is providing an education on cancer and chemotherapy by documenting his journey and sharing some of his rawest and most candid thoughts and experiences on his diagnosis.
Turning his cancer experience into a stand-up comedy show is just what we’d expect of Green, and it will be interesting to see the impact of his latest initiative.
(featured image: Monica Schipper / Getty)
