James Van Der Beek, best known for his role on Dawson’s Creek, has delivered a deeply emotional update about his ongoing fight with cancer, leaving fans around the world concerned for the actor and his family.

The early symptoms
Van Der Beek was first diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer in 2023.

Before being diagnosed, Van Der Beek noticed unusual changes in his bowel habits, which he initially linked to his coffee intake.

“There wasn’t any red flag or something glaring,” he told Healthline“I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee,” he told People last year. “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 underwent the procedure, Van Der Beek said he felt surprisingly calm.

“I felt really, really good as I was coming out of anesthesia that I had finally done it and looked into it,” he recalls. “And as I was coming out of the haze, the gastroenterologist said — in his most pleasant bedside manner — it is cancer.”

After that, the beloved actor has opened up about the heavy toll the illness had taken on his personal life.