James Van Der Beek on the Moment He Received Stage 3 Cancer Diagnosis

“Dawson’s Creek” alum James Van Der Beek is opening up about his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in a new interview exclusive to People magazine.

The 47-year-old father of six learned the news last year after he started having issues with his bowel movements.

He didn't think he'd be facing such a scary diagnosis, though, explaining, “I’d always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles. But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I tried to eat healthy — or as far as I knew it at the time."

“I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee,” he recalled. “Or maybe not put cream in the coffee. But when I cut that out and it didn’t improve, I thought, ‘All right, I better get this checked out.’”

He had a colonoscopy and felt relieved he’d “finally done it,” only to have the doctor deliver the devastating news.

“Then the gastroenterologist said — in his most pleasant bedside manner — that it was cancer. I think I went into shock,” Van Der Beek shared.

He said of the diagnosis, “This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit. I thought, ‘This is either going to take me out of the body, or it’s going to teach me how to truly live in it.’”  

At first, he didn’t know what stage the cancer was, and explained, “There was a part of me that felt like yeah, I wanted to break down and fall apart and then a more logical part came in and said, ‘You just don’t have the information yet.’”

After he learned it was stage 3, James said, “I really didn’t feel this was going to end me. I really felt like this is going to be the biggest life redirect. I’m going to make changes that I never would have made otherwise that I’m going to look back on in a year, five years, 30 years from now and say, ‘Thank God that happened.’” 

Van Der Beek added, “That’s how I was about 90 percent of the time, and then 10 percent of the time I was a sobbing, terrified mess.”

As for his medical treatments, he said, “If you’ve heard of it, I’ve probably touched up on it,” adding, “When I’ve been out of the woods completely… I’ll circle back and let you know what I think worked.”

Opening up to friends and family about his health was difficult. He said, “Telling people was hard, telling people required a lot of energy,” but he said his kids were a different story.

The star went on, “My kids have been so supportive and so loving and so tender. You hate to watch them have to grow in that way, but you watch them really put you first, which as a father is heat warming but also devastating, because… I’m super dad.”

As for their reactions, James told People, “Every kid is different, every kid processes it differently, they all hide a little bit differently, and yeah, they are scared. It is natural so it has been a real opportunity for connection to be there with them and really dig in deep and ask them to express their thoughts their fears their concerns and recognize when it comes out in their behavior in other ways.”

Van Der Beek got emotional talking about his wife Kimberly, saying, “I don’t get through this without her… She is extraordinary.”

These days James says he’s feeling “great” and is “very cautiously optimistic.”

He went on, “I feel like I have a handle on it. My energy levels are great, I’m in a really good spot. I’m in a place of healing.”

James insisted, "I have a lot to live for."

The celeb also explained why he wanted to speak out. “Colorectal cancers are on the rise in younger and younger and healthier and healthier people. That’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk about it… I really wanted to raise awareness,” he said.

Van Der Beek said for anyone else going through cancer, “Go easy on yourself, be loving with yourself, you got this. Miracles do happen and they happen all the time.”

James first announced his diagnosis last weekend on Instagram and via People. He wrote, in part, on Instagram, “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."