‘Dawson’s Creek’ star James Van Der Beek associated cancer with ‘unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles’ before diagnosis

Actor James Van Der Beek is opening up astir his travel aft revealing to nan world that he was diagnosed pinch shape 3 colorectal crab astatine nan property of 46.

“I’ve been dealing pinch this beautiful overmuch successful concealed for a while, and successful nan past, I’ve recovered it adjuvant and cathartic to stock things publicly,” Van Der Beek,47, told PEOPLE for their week’s screen story. “And I’ve recovered a batch of support that way. But much than that, I really wanted to raise awareness.”

The “Dawson’s Creek” alum hopes that publically speaking astir his acquisition will raise consciousness astir colorectal cancer, a crab that’s becoming much communal successful adults nether 55.

“That’s 1 of nan reasons I want to talk astir it and the logic I’m talking astir it truthful openly,” Van Der Beek said.

Although he does not supply galore specifications astir his existent wellness and his stages of recovery, Van Der Beek says he feels bully astir his existent state.

“I’m very cautiously optimistic. I’m successful a spot of healing, my power levels are great. When I’ve been retired of nan woods wholly for what feels for illustration a responsible magnitude of time, I’ll circle backmost and fto you know,” he says. “I person a batch to unrecorded for.”

According to recent studies from nan American Cancer Society (ACS), colorectal crab is “swiftly shifting to much precocious illness and younger individuals,” and diagnoses of those nether 55 doubled from 11-20% from 1995 to 2019.

“We cognize rates are expanding successful young people, but it’s alarming to spot really quickly nan full diligent organization is shifting younger, contempt shrinking numbers successful nan wide population,” said Rebecca Siegel, elder technological head of surveillance investigation astatine nan American Cancer Society. “The inclination toward much precocious illness successful group of each ages is besides astonishing and should motivate everyone 45 and older to get screened.”

Van Der Beek said he wasn’t expecting this test successful his life because he ever took attraction of his body, and location is nary family history of crab to his knowledge.

“I’d ever associated crab pinch property and pinch unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles. But I was successful astonishing cardiovascular shape. I tried to eat patient — aliases arsenic acold arsenic I knew it astatine nan time,” he said.

Van Der Beek noticed a alteration successful his bowel movements successful nan summertime of 2023 and blamed it connected his diet.

“I thought possibly I needed to extremity coffee,” nan character said. “Or possibly not put pick successful nan coffee. But erstwhile I trim that retired and it didn’t improve, I thought, ‘All right, I amended get this checked out.’”

Van Der Beek said he “felt really bully coming retired of nan anesthesia” pursuing a colonoscopy, and past went into daze erstwhile his gastroenterologist told him he had cancer.

Though he didn’t specify, nan character started treatments specified arsenic room and chemotherapy to conflict against nan disease.

“This has been a clang people successful nan mastery of mind, body, and spirit,” he said. “I thought, ‘This is either going to return maine retired of nan body, aliases it’s going to thatch maine really to genuinely unrecorded successful it.’” 

He goes connected to opportunity that it’s difficult to enactment affirmative successful a difficult situation.

“The trickiest point is location are truthful galore unknowns pinch cancer,” he explained. “You think, ‘How do I hole this? Is this treatment me? Is this hurting me? Is this working? Is it coming back?’ As personification who likes answers, not knowing is 1 of nan hardest things.”

The character presently lives connected a ranch successful Texas pinch his wife, Kimberly, 42, and their six kids: Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel,10, Emilia, 8, Gwen, 6, and Jeremiah, 3.

His woman showed her support after he issued an apology for keeping his cancer test a concealed for this long from loved ones.

“Apologies to each nan group successful my life who I’d planned connected telling myself. Nothing astir this process has occurred connected my preferred timeline,” Van Der Beek wrote connected societal media. “But we rotation pinch it, taking each astonishment arsenic a signpost, pointing america toward a greater destiny than we would person discovered without divine intervention.”

Kimberly commented connected her husband’s post, writing, “I emotion you babe ♥️” 

Kimberly besides shared a throwback photo pinch her hubby and wrote, “We were babies. So overmuch life lived since then. Grateful for it all,” days earlier he made his nationalist announcement.