Cameron Mathison Says He Is Working with Health Coach After Undergoing Surgery to Treat His Cancer

“I’ve learned more about my own specific health challenges and growth than I have probably in decades before that,” the General Hospital actor tells PEOPLE of his current health update on Friday

Cameron Mathison is taking good care of his health after being diagnosed with cancer.

While speaking to PEOPLE at the 49th annual Daytime Emmy Awards on Friday, the General Hospital actor revealed he is getting professional help from a health coach to learn more about his wellbeing after undergoing surgery to treat kidney cancer in 2019.

“I work with a health coach now — I thought I knew a lot about what I was doing in the right and the wrong ways or whatever, but in the last year, I’d say, maybe 14 months, I’ve learned more about my own specific health challenges and growth than I have probably in decades before that,” Mathison, 52, who plays Drew Cain on the daytime soap, shared.

“It’s good,” he added of his recent health journey.

The Hallmark Channel host also tells PEOPLE how the health scare he endured helped him gain a new perspective on life.

“The way that it’s changed, it’s increased my desire and my willingness and my effort and motivation to help others and to spread the word and just to be a benefit,” he explained. “I got so much help through my journey, and it’s like, not everybody has that.”

“I just try to do what I can and volunteer and do things, so it’s really shifted that,” he continued. “Also, a level of more gratitude in my life here.”

The former All My Children star revealed on Sept. 10, 2019, that he had renal cell carcinoma or kidney cancer. A week later, he underwent partial nephrectomy surgery — a difficult procedure where doctors remove a tumor while only taking out a small portion of the kidney.

Two days after his Sept. 18 surgery, Mathison announced to his Instagram followers that it went “very well.”

“The tumor is gone and I even got to keep 80% of my kidney ????,” Mathison posted on Instagram, along with a photo of him in his hospital bed surrounded by his two kids, Leila, 15, and Lucas, 19. “We are all optimistic.”

The actor also told his fans that he would keep them updated on his health and thanked them for their encouragement.

“Feeling loved and supported by my family and friends, including each and every one of you,” he said. “I’ve been very overwhelmed and so grateful for all of the supportive comments and prayers.”

In his interview with PEOPLE on Friday, Mathison also reflected on his career with the daytime family, calling it “very unique.”

“I’ve been in daytime in different capacities for over 25 years now, from soaps to talk shows to everything in between, so to me, it’s the regular day in, day out. That aspect of coming to work every day and getting to know everybody in that way,” he shared.

“Sometimes we spend more time with our daytime family that we work with than our real family, so it really is a very, very, very unique situation for you.”