Actor James Van Der Beek is opening up about his journey after revealing to the world that he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer at the age of 46.
“I’ve been dealing with this very privately for a while, and in the past, I’ve found it helpful and cathartic to share things publicly,” Van der Beek, 47, told PEOPLE for her cover story of the week. “And I got a lot of support that way. But more than that, I really wanted to raise awareness.
The “Dawson’s Creek” alum hopes that speaking publicly about her experience will raise awareness about colon cancer, a cancer that is becoming more common among adults under the age of 55.
“This is one of the reasons I want to talk about and gave Because I’m very open about it,” Van der Beek said.
Although he doesn’t provide many details about his current health and recovery stages, van der Beek says he feels good about his current state.
“I’m very cautiously optimistic. I’m in a place of healing, my energy levels are great. When I’m completely out of the woods for what feels like a responsible time, I Will circle back and let you know,” he says. “I have a lot to live for.”
According to A recent study by the American Cancer Society (ACS), colon cancer is “more advanced disease and increasingly shifting to younger people,” and diagnoses in people younger than 55 doubled from 11 percent to 20 percent from 1995 to 2019.
“We know that rates are increasing among young people, but it is alarming to see how rapidly the entire patient population is getting younger despite the shrinking numbers in the overall population.” Rebecca SiegelSenior Scientific Director of Surveillance Research at the American Cancer Society. “The trend toward more advanced disease among people of all ages is also striking and should encourage everyone age 45 and older to get screened.”
Van der Beek said he was not expecting this diagnosis in his lifetime because he has always taken care of his body, and has no family history of cancer that he knows of.
“I always associated cancer with age and an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle. But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I tried to eat healthy — or as far as I knew at the time,” he said. said
Van der Beek noticed a change in his bowel movements in the summer of 2023 and blamed it on his diet.
“I thought maybe I needed to stop the coffee,” the actor said. “Or maybe don’t put cream in coffee. But when I cut it out and it didn’t improve, I thought, ‘Well, I’d better check it out.’
Van der Beek said he “felt great coming out of anesthesia” after the colonoscopy, and then went into shock when his gastroenterologist told him he had cancer.
Although he didn’t elaborate, the actor started treatments like surgery and chemotherapy to fight the disease.
“It’s been a crash course in mastery of mind, body and spirit,” he said. “I thought, ‘It’s either going to get me out of the body, or it’s going to teach me how to really be in it.'”
He goes on to say that it is difficult to stay positive in difficult situations.
“The hardest part is that there are so many unknowns about cancer,” he explained. “You think, ‘How do I fix it? Is it healing me? Is it hurting me? Is it working? Is it coming back?’ As someone who likes answers, not knowing is one of the hardest things.
The actor currently lives with him on a ranch in Texas. wife, Kimberly; 42, and their six children: Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabelle, 10, Emilia, 8, Gwen, 6, and Jeremiah, 3.
His wife expressed her support when he issued an apology for keeping his cancer diagnosis a secret from loved ones for so long.
“Apologies to all the people in my life that I intended to tell myself. Nothing has happened on my preferred timeline regarding this process,” van der Beek wrote on social media. “But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a sign, pointing us to a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention.”
Kimberly commented on her husband’s post, writing, “I love you baby ♥️.”
Kimberly also shared one. Throwback photo with her husband and wrote, “We were kids. So much life after that. Grateful for it all,” just days before she made her public announcement.
Credit : nypost.com
