Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek has revealed he has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

The actor, 47, said he has been ‘privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it with the support’ of his incredible family.  

‘I have colorectal cancer,’ he told People. ‘There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.’

Colorectal cancer starts in the colon or the rectum, according to the American Cancer Society. 

Following his diagnosis, Van Der Beek, who shares six children with his wife, Kimberly, has kept working.

Most recently, he appeared on an episode of, Walker, and is next set to star in Sidelined: The QB and Me, which comes out later this month. 

In June, he and his family enjoyed a trip to visit the ancient Egyptian pyramids and temples. 

At the time, he revealed on Instagram that he had taken a trip out to see the remains of ancient Egyptian culture, including the iconic pyramids at Giza, just outside Cairo, and the Dendera Temple complex, which is several hours away via car. 

The actor, who moved away from Los Angeles four years earlier to start a new life with his family in Texas, shared photos of his family sampling the stunning sights, and his caption illustrated how awed he was by the monumental structures.

He gushed that how ‘magical’ the trip was in his post, and he admitted that was ‘caught off-guard at just how deeply i felt the spiritual resonance of these temples.’

‘#Egypt… With all my vocabulary, “Wow,” is what fell out of my mouth most of the time,’ he began his post. ‘We were gifted a magical experience, one I’m still processing – and might be for the rest of my life.’

He praised his children — Olivia, 13; Joshua, 12; Annabel Leah, 10; Emilia, eight; Gwendolyn, six; and Jeremiah, two — for being ‘rock stars’ on the major intercontinental voyage, and he wrote that his ‘friends became brothers’ on the trip.

‘Despite all the travel and time zone crossing and early-morning alarms, I feel re-charged,’ he gushed.

James added that he was shocked at the ‘spiritual’ experience he had around the structures, many of which originally had religious significance. 

‘I’d anticipated a metaphysical element to the trip, but I was caught off-gaurd [sic] at just how deeply I felt the spiritual resonance of all these temples,’ he admitted. ‘I mean, they are “temples”, after all (duh), but whatever assumptions I had about these otherworldly structures being “antiquities” faded as soon as I stepped into them. 

‘These were holy places, built to connect to the divine as best they understood it at the time. I left with reverence and awe — my eyes, heart, and soul expanded,’ he added. ‘Deepest thanks to everyone who made it possible.’

James’ marriage to Kimberly is his second, after he was married to the actress Heather Ann McComb from 2003 to 2009.

He and Kimberly married in August of 2010 in Israel, and they welcomed the first of their six children just a month after wedding.

Previously his wife suffered a pregnancy loss in November 2019 and another in June 2020.