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James Van Der Beek is opening up about the moment he learned he had cancer.
In case you missed the news, the Dawson’s Creek star revealed recently he was diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer. Sadly, he had a hard time even announcing his diagnosis, as he said he was forced into coming out about it before he was ready. He revealed a tabloid was going to run the story — and he wanted to take the power back into his own hands, so he shared his diagnosis on Instagram first. The 47-year-old even apologized to his loved ones who found out through social media. Such an awful situation…
But now that the word is out, he’s speaking to People about what he’s been going through. In a cover story that debuted Friday, he said his goal is to raise awareness about colorectal cancer:
“That’s one of the reasons I want to talk about it and the reason I’m talking about it so openly. I’ve been dealing with this pretty much in secret for a while, and in the past, I’ve found it helpful and cathartic to share things publicly. And I’ve found a lot of support that way. But more than that, I really wanted to raise awareness.”
We’re glad to hear he gained something positive from sharing everything so openly, even if it happened way sooner than he anticipated.
Related: Prince William Makes Rare Comment About Princess Catherine’s Cancer Battle
American Cancer Society estimates one in five diagnoses of colorectal cancer is someone under the age of 55. That’s way more younger people getting the diagnosis, as back in 1995 it was only one in 10. Being one of the people under 55 to receive the diagnosis, James is trying to spread the word.
The TV star said he had no family history of the disease and no reason to suspect he’d get it. He was also pretty healthy:
“I’d always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles. But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I tried to eat healthy — or as far as I knew it at the time.”
That’s why in summer 2023, when he noticed changes to his bowel movements, he knew something was up. At first, he thought what he was consuming was the reason he was facing issues, but he’d soon find out that wasn’t the case:
“I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee. Or maybe not put cream in the coffee. But when I cut that out and it didn’t improve, I thought, ‘All right, I better get this checked out.’”
When he was actually told he had cancer, though, he was in complete “shock” — he didn’t suspect anything was truly wrong until he heard it from his doctor’s mouth:
“I felt really good coming out of anesthesia [after my colonoscopy], that I’d finally done it. Then the gastroenterologist said — in his most pleasant bedside manner — that it was cancer. I think I went into shock.”
So sad…
But he didn’t let the shock slow him down from getting help! James said he immediately dove into treatments, and where he wasn’t specific about what exactly he’s doing, he said:
“If you’ve heard about it, I’ve probably touched on it.”
He even seems to have a pretty positive mindset, all things considered:
“This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit. I thought, ‘This is either going to take me out of the body, or it’s going to teach me how to truly live in it.’”
What an amazing outlook. This doesn’t come easy, though, he said:
“The trickiest thing is there are so many unknowns with cancer. You think, ‘How do I fix this? Is this healing me? Is this hurting me? Is this working? Is it coming back?’ As someone who likes answers, not knowing is one of the hardest things.”
At the end of the day, he told the outlet he’s “cautiously optimistic”. He left out any updates on his treatment and stages, but said he’s doing good right now:
“I’m very cautiously optimistic. I’m in a place of healing, my energy levels are great. When I’ve been out of the woods completely for what feels like a responsible amount of time, I’ll circle back and let you know. I have a lot to live for.”
We’re sending healing to James as he navigates this. We hope to see him make a full recovery soon.
[Image via James Van Der Beek/Instagram]
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