James Van Der Beek opens up about his health after cancer diagnosis

James Van Der Beek opened up about his tough journey after being diagnosed with stage three colorectal cancer.

In an exclusive conversation with People, the 47-year-old shared that he was trying to remain optimistic about the entire situation. 

"I'm in a place of healing, my energy levels are great," shared the star.

The Dawson’s Creek actor optimistically expressed that he still has a lot to live for.

James revealed that he wanted to speak on the matter in order to raise awareness about the disease that is increasingly becoming common among healthy adults. 

"I've been dealing with this pretty much in secret for a while, and in the past, I've found it helpful and cathartic to share things publicly," the father of six told People. 

"And I've found a lot of support that way. But more than that, I really wanted to raise awareness."

Before the diagnosis, the Varsity Blues actor thought he was the healthiest he had ever been. 

"I’d always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles," the American actor continued to add. 

"But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I even tried to eat healthy."

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out the way the star wanted to as he also disclosed that he had to rush to reveal the sickness to the public before telling his family because he feared that a tabloid would beat him to it.