James Van Der Beek Called His Cancer ‘a Gift’ in His Final Interview

“Dawson’s Creek” star James Van Der Beek, 48, sadly passed away on Thursday after battling colorectal cancer. 

In his final interview, James spoke about how his diagnosis changed his life, calling it a “gift.”

Van Der Beek invited “Today” show anchor Craig Melvin to his Texas ranch in December, where he shared his first thoughts after hearing he had stage three cancer in 2023.

“I went into shock… One of the things I was really lucky about was as soon as I heard the news, I thought, ‘This is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me.’"

He explained, “I had this little voice in my head that said, ‘You’re going to make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis. And it’s going to add healthy, happy years to your life.’”

James said after the diagnosis he learned to slow down, he became more aware of his diet, and the “biggest change” was his “journey of self-love.”

He shared, “What I realized was I am still worthy of love. My own love, God’s love."

Van Der Beek said of his faith, "Before cancer, God was something I tried to fit in my life as much as possible. After cancer, I feel, like, a connection to God, whatever that is, it is kind of the whole point of this exercise on this planet.”

He confessed he never expected the outpouring of love from fans he received after his diagnosis, admitting, “I never stopped to appreciate kind of what I had done. Every time somebody says, ‘I am praying for you, I am wishing you the best,’ I appreciate it."

James had predicted cancer would “change the way I live the rest of my life.”

“I think before cancer, I took all these beautiful as kind of part of a collective, I was just aware of everything and now I’m able to just sew into that exact moment. So, presence is just really the gift that cancer’s given me.”

Van Der Beek is survived by his wife Kimberly and their six children.