James Van Der Beek shares health update amid cancer journey

James Van Der Beek shared an optimistic update with fans during his battle from cancer.

The 48-year-old actor declared that he can finally see “the finish line” in his healing journey and he feels optimistic.

During his interview with Extra, Van Der Beek announced, “I’m going back to work next month. I’m taking this month really to just kind of relax,” on Thursday, March 20th.

The former Dawson Creek star was revealed to be the griffin as he was eliminated in the Wednesday episode of The Masked Singer.

Van Der Beek told the outlet that he felt relieved to perform while he was concealed under a costume, after his cancer diagnosis got public last year.

“Especially with everything I was going through, and I just announced the health issues I was dealing with, so to be able to put on the mask and connect with an audience without that being a part of the equation was actually a really beautiful thing,” he continued.

He went on to say, “I appreciated the mask. The costume itself was heavy as could be… but the mask I appreciated.”

Van Der Beek first revealed his cancer diagnosis in an interview last year with People Magazine.

“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family. There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good,” he said at the time.