James Van Der Beek revealed he had been diagnosed with colorectal cancer in November 2024. Photo / Getty Images
James Van Der Beek says he has had the “hardest year of my life” since his cancer diagnosis.
Last year, the Dawson’s Creek star, 48, went public with his health crisis after being diagnosed
with colorectal cancer and father-of-six Van Der Beek admitted it has taken a toll on his whole family, particularly when he “was away for treatment”.
He said on Instagram: “I had to come nose to nose with death. And all those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me.
“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. I couldn’t even be a steward of the land because at times I was too weak to prune all the trees during the window that you’re supposed to prune them.”
Van Der Beek has six children — Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 8, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 2, with his wife Kimberly, who he married in August 2010.
