The head of the influential youth organization InterVarsity Christian Fellowship is having to step down from his position after being diagnosed with cancer.

Alec Hill, who has headed the group since 2001, announced that he has been diagnosed with myelodysplasia, a form of bone marrow cancer.  The disease usually progresses into acute myelogenous leukemia with five year survival rates from 15-70% depending on treatment.

Hill will begin his treatment June 10th after a Board of Trustees meeting to appoint an interim president.

“Alec has played a key role in encouraging and shepherding us,” InterVarsity Board Chair Ron Williams said in a statement.  “And we pray that he will experience God’s shepherding and grace as he faces the unexpected journey ahead.”

During the time Hill headed the organization, the group had a 10 percent increase in membership and a 23 percent increase in overall involvement in the organization.  He also started a donor gift program that has raised over $70 million for the group’s worldwide ministry.

InterVarsity began in 1877 in Britain when a group of students gathered for Bible study and prayer at Cambridge University.