YouTuber TotalBiscuit quits Twitter and all social media following terminal liver cancer diagnosis

YouTube personality TotalBiscuit, real name John Bain, has announced he is to quit Twitter and other social media platforms following the terminal cancer diagnosis he revealed to his followers last October. Bain released a heartfelt statement explaining why he made the decision.

The YouTuber, who has over two million subscribers and 494,000 Twitter followers, released a statement on SoundCloud. "In a few years, I could very well be dead—two to three [years to live] average is what I'm given for this particular form of this disease," he says.

"I intend to outlive that by a significant margin, but if it ends up being the last few years of my life, I want to spend them not being f**king miserable. And if that involves disconnecting from everybody, so be it. My family is gonna come first, my f**king mental health is gonna come first. The expectation that everyone who ever made it on the Internet's gotta be constantly connected to their fans all the time 24 hours a day 24/7 is insane. It's unreasonable."

Bain states he will continue producing YouTube videos and streams, and that his Twitter account will remain active in the hands of an assistant to promote those videos and because "I legally can't... I have to maintain this Twitter for my YouTube channel and for my sponsorship agreements."

In April 2014 Bain revealed that a precancerous mass had been discovered in his colon, which was later revealed to have grown into cancer. He began chemotherapy and radiation treatment and was cleared in April 2015. Subsequent procedures and follow-up appointments then revealed the cancer had spread to his liver.

TotalBiscuit ends the statement by saying: "Know that the vast majority of you, I appreciate you every day. It's why I thank you at the end of every video. You let me live my dream, and I'm so very grateful for that."

A full transcription of his statement can be found over at Kotaku.

We wish John Bain and his family all the very best during this exceptionally difficult time.

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