'It’s the Fight of His Life': James Van Der Beek 'Plans to Beat' Cancer After Shocking Diagnosis
James Van Der Beek is fighting cancer with all his might.
The Dawson's Creek star publicly revealed his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis on Sunday, November 3, after attempting to deal with the matter privately.
Since the world now knows of his health issues, they can also watch him overcome them!
"James is a fighter and he plans to beat this," a source recently spilled to a news publication of Van Der Beek. "It’s the fight of his life, so he’s happy to have the support of his family, friends and fans. Staying close to them is a huge part of what’s helping him cope with the diagnosis."
In the near future, the dad-of-six "also intends to open up more about his personal cancer journey," the insider said, noting the kind of disease Van Der Beek is battling tends to be "treatable."
"The hope is to help others with his story," the confidante added of the Varsity Blues actor — who shares kids Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, 8, Gwen, 6, and Jeremiah, 3, with his wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek.
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The update on James' cancer battle comes less than two weeks after the 47-year-old revealed his health issues to the public via a statement to People.
"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," the actor shared. "There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good."
James further elaborated on his condition in a follow-up Instagram post, writing: "'It is cancer…' Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I’m one of them."
"There’s no playbook for how announce these things, but I’d planned on talking about it at length with People magazine at some point soon… to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms," he admitted. "But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news."
"I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. I’m in a good place and feeling strong. It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready," James continued. "Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline… But we roll with it."
The celebrity said he was "taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention," concluding: "Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support."
Life & Style spoke to a source for an update on James' cancer battle.