Popular 90s heartthrob gives health update after cancer diagnosis: 'Really makes me cry'
The Dawson's Creek heartthrob, 48, who was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in August 2023, admitted that he would likely continue to fight the disease for the remainder of his life.
During an Interview with Today.com James compared deal with cancer to a 'full time job' and said he'd undertaken a huge life change, including taking up yoga and a diet overhaul in a bid to stay healthy.
He said: 'The beauty of just taking things a little bit more slowly and prioritising rest and really allowing that to be the job, I'm just on the journey. It's a process. It'll probably be a process for the rest of my life'.
James went on to reveal that he'd been left in tears after numerous fans said they'd sought medical help thanks to him speaking so openly about colon cancer.
'Guys I see at the gas station, people come up to me at a coffee shop, I appreciate it every time, That's been stuff that really makes me cry'.
He went on: 'When people say, "I got checked, I got a colonoscopy, I got a polyp removed", just to save somebody that journey'.
Earlier this year James opened up about his cancer journey as he marked his 48th birthday.
He told his 1.6 million followers the last year, 'has been the hardest of my life,' in a video posted on social media.
Labeling the clip 'What Cancer Taught Me,' the Dawson's Creek alum described how coming 'nose to nose with Death,' had helped him redefine who he is.
'When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never all that fulfilling, and then I became a husband and it was much better and then I became a father and that was the ultimate,' he told the camera while sitting in what looked like the family home he shares with his wife, Kimberly and their six children.
He said being away from his family for treatment and living alone in an apartment had forced him to 'look my own mortality in the eye.'
'All of those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me,' the devoted dad said.
James went on to reveal that he'd been left in tears after numerous fans said they'd sought medical help thanks to him speaking so openly about colon cancer
'I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them. I could not be a provider because I wasn't working.'
As he was contemplating his identity, the Vampirina voice actor said, 'I was faced with the question, "If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy, alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?"
The Downsizing actor said he was meditating on that question, when he got an answer regarding what he considered his diminished status.
'I am worthy of God's love simply because I exist. And if I'm worthy of God's love, shouldn't I also be worthy of my own?' he asked.
'As I move through this healing portal toward recovery, I wanted to share that with you because that revelation that came to me was in no small part to all the prayers and the love that had been directed toward me,' he said.
The Varsity Blues star then encouraged those watching the video to try to incorporate the message into their own lives, regardless of their beliefs.
'I certainly don't claim to know what God is or explain God, my efforts to connect to God are an ongoing process that is a constant unfolding mystery to me,' he explained.
'But, if it's a trigger that feels too religious, you can take the word God out in your mind and it can simply be "I am worthy of love." Because you are.'
He then thanked his fans for their prayers, and wished them 'a blessed day.'
Colon cancer has been a growing concern in the United States among younger people and is the leading cause of cancer death among those in the 20 to 49 year-old age group, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Van Der Beek said his cancer was discovered after undergoing a colonoscopy in August 2023. He did not reveal his diagnosis until November 2024.
He has not revealed what his treatment regimen has been for the disease, but told People that 'if you've heard about it, I've probably touched on it.'
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