James Van Der Beek hasn\u2019t been seen publicly in months, even missing a recent "Dawson\u2019s Creek" reunion, sparking concern among fans. Speaking to us from his Texas ranch, Van Der Beek is now reflecting on a more than two-year battle with colon cancer.<\/p>\n
\nNBC6 anchor Sheli Mu\u00f1iz: Talk to me about what this chapter has been like for you since you received your diagnosis.
\nVan Der Beek: 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.
\nThe 48-year-old actor, husband and father said the scariest part was the possibility of not watching his six children grow up.<\/p>\n
What are some practical things that you have done in your life that you feel are taking your power back, essentially?
\nVan Der Beek: You know, diet has been the biggest one. And I ate pretty healthy before, but once I really dug into just how not food so much of the food we buy and eat is, that’s been the biggest thing."
\nShifting behavior and mindset, he said he is living a more present life and using his story to save others.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, I got a colonoscopy because there are a couple of things that are happening, but nothing that made me rush to the doctor," he said.
\nColorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths. It often starts as small growths called polyps. They can be detected and removed early with a colonoscopy, now recommended at age 45.
\nYet millions still put it off.
\nWhat do you think is the biggest misconception, or what’s the fear that holds someone back from getting screened?
\nVan Der Beek: 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.<\/p>\n
Van Der Beek is now teaming with Guardant Health to raise awareness about newer FDA options, including their Shield blood test. The goal is to make screening more accessible.
\nWhen you hear the phrase, "early detection saves lives," what does that mean to you with your lived experience now?
\nVan Der Beek: I’ve seen firsthand how it can save lives. I’ve had people I know get screened, get it taken care of, and move on with their life, and not have to go through the journey that I’ve been on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Van Der Beek plans to continue acting. His message is simple: get screened. By sharing his story, he hopes to encourage others to take control of their health and prioritize screening for colon cancer.<\/p>\n
Q: What type of cancer is James Van Der Beek battling?
\nA: James Van Der Beek is battling colon cancer.
\nQ: At what age is colon cancer screening recommended?
\nA: Colon cancer screening is now recommended at age 45.
\nQ: What is the goal of James Van Der Beek’s partnership with Guardant Health?
\nA: The goal is to make screening more accessible and raise awareness about newer FDA options, including the Shield blood test.
\nQ: What is James Van Der Beek’s message to his fans?
\nA: His message is simple: get screened.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Introduction to James Van Der Beek’s Cancer Journey James Van Der Beek hasn\u2019t been seen publicly in months, even missing a recent "Dawson\u2019s Creek" reunion, sparking concern among fans. Speaking to us from his Texas ranch, Van Der Beek is now reflecting on a more than two-year battle with colon cancer. The Diagnosis and Its […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":23655,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_lock_modified_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23653","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-wellness"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/media.nbcmiami.com\/2025\/12\/Actor-James-Van-Der-Beek-opens-up-about-colon-cancer-journey.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&fit=1920,1080&w=1920&resize=1920,1080&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23656,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23653\/revisions\/23656"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/citystuff.com\/miami\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}