James Van Der Beek has opened up about his cancer journey as he issues a terrifying warning to fans.
After months away from the spotlight, including skipping a highly anticipated Dawson’s Creek cast reunion, the actor revealed how his outlook on life has shifted due to him having been living with colon cancer for more than two years. Speaking from his ranch in Texas, Van Der Beek described the diagnosis as a turning point that forced him to confront both his mortality and his priorities.
Rather than focusing on the physical toll of treatment, he said the most difficult part was grappling with what the future might look like for his family.
"It's been the wildest, hardest journey I've ever had in this lifetime. It's required more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had, quite frankly. But there's also been a lot of beauty in it," he told NBC6.
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The experience has prompted significant changes in how the dad-of-six tackles his day-to-day life.
Van Der Beek said he has become far more intentional about what he eats, explaining that learning more about the modern food supply pushed him to rethink habits he once believed were already healthy, while he also described a broader shift toward being more present and disciplined, mentally and physically.
One of the most alarming aspects of his journey, he noted, was how easily the disease could have gone unnoticed. His decision to get screened came after noticing small changes that didn’t seem urgent at the time - the kind many people might ignore. That realization, he says, is what motivated him to speak publicly now.
He urged the TV station: "I think the biggest misconception is the same one I had, which is that you need to have something seriously wrong with you to get screened for colorectal cancer. You don't. You can have no symptoms and still have cancer."
Colon cancer remains the second-leading cause of cancer-related deaths, yet it is often preventable when caught early.
It comes months on from when the One Tree Hill actor shared a subtle symptom he had prior to his diagnosis during an interview with Healthline.
"There wasn’t any red flag or something glaring," he admitted. "I was healthy. I was doing the cold plunge. I was in amazing cardiovascular shape, and I had stage 3 cancer, and I had no idea."
One sign, however, was minor changes in his bowel movements.
According to the American Cancer Society, other symptoms of colorectal cancer include bleeding from your bottom, blood in your poo, losing weight without knowing why, fatigue, and cramping or abdominal pain.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.
Topics: Cancer, Colon cancer, Health
Joe Yates