James Van Der Beek has revealed he's been secretly battling colorectal cancer.
The Dawson's Creek alum spoke exclusively to People magazine to detail his challenging health diagnosis.
He told the outlet: "I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family."
© Getty ImagesJames — who is a proud dad to six children with his wife, Kimberly — added: "There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good."
Despite his battle, James has continued to work and he's fighting for himself and his family, including Kimberly, and their kids, Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.
© InstagramOnly recently, he shared photos of their vacation, when they escaped Texas for Egypt.
It was in June, when the brood made the adventure and he proudly shared photos on Instagram.
Over Halloween, he updated fans and looked in great spirits, sharing photos with his children.
© InstagramHe gave insight into his life as a dad — having left Hollywood for Texas — and wrote: "I made all my own costumes growing up. Didn’t really have a choice. But I loved it. Should probably have been the first warning sign to my parents that I would end up an actor .
"But in a SPIRIT HALLOWEEN world… my six year-old was devastated that her angel costume would not arrive in time for trick-or-treating.
© Getty"After acknowledging the tears, she was given the project of making her own halo, which she worked on for HOURS - wrapping yellow yarn around some garden wire. Focused in a way might not have believed possible.
"And the look of pride on her face upon seeing the final project in the mirror was, for me… my favorite moment of Halloween."
James' marriage to Kimberly is his second. He was previously married to actress Heather Ann McComb for three years, from 2003 to 2009.
He and Kimberly married in 2010 in Israel and welcomed the first of their six children just a month after wedding.
They left Tinseltown for Austin several years ago with James explaining to Southernliving.com how idyllic their new life was. "Sunsets are our favorite," he said, in 2023. "We've got a great spot where we can go watch the sun go down and the kids can play,” he said. “I put up a bunch of ropes in the trees and they can run around and swing and kick the soccer ball and throw the football. There is no shortage of things to do for sure."
He added to People "I know for me, it's been really centering and I feel like for the kids, it's been grounding, and a different kind of education that we never could have offered them in a classroom."
While speaking to GMA, James confirmed: "Living in Texas, I've been offered basically everything that I thought I really wanted before, and I just haven't had it in me to say ‘yes,’ to leave where we're at. But I think it's time. My big thing is that my kids come with me, so we'll all go wherever we're going and figure it out."
