YouTube personality TotalBiscuit, real name John Bain, has revealed that he has been diagnosed with an inoperable cancer of the liver after being successfully treated for bowel cancer. He has been told that the average life expectancy is 2-3 years but adds that "there are outliers that live much longer".

On Twitter, via the Twitlonger app, Bain said: "I'll be back on chemo in a few weeks, with the goal of pushing it back and keeping it there for as long as possible. I fully intend to be the outlier, the average is this way because most people that get this are old and not strong anymore.

"Who knows what they'll come up with in the next decade? I intend to beat it for as long as possible. Gonna need some time to process all of this. I don't really feel anything right now. Thanks."

The 31-year-old, also known as The Cynical Brit, started as a radio DJ, entering the gaming industry in 2005 as host of World of Warcraft Radio – which ran for five years – and garnered a lot of attention from fans of the game and its developers Blizzard. It was at BlizzCon where he met Genna Bain, who is now his wife.

After being laid off from his 9-5 job in 2010, Bain started his website CynicalBrit.com, and went on to become a popular voice in the video game industry thanks to his "WTF is...?" series, his "Content Patch" show on which he discusses current gaming news and his passion for indie gaming. His YouTube channel currently has over 2 million subscribers.

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.

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

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