James van der Beek is hoping to help others with his story. Last year, the 48 year old actor shared that he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, opening up about the challenges of his journey and sharing some of his experiences with the public.
In an interview with Healthline, van der Beek shared some of the warning signs of the cancer, which were minor and he ignored. “There wasn’t any red flag or something glaring,” he said to Healthline.
He noticed a change in his bowel movements, which he attributed to coffee. “I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee,” he said in an interview with PEOPLE. “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.’”
Van der Beek shared that despite leading a healthy lifestyle and feeling fine, he still had a cancer that was growing worse. “I was healthy. I was doing the cold plunge. I was in amazing cardiovascular shape, and I had stage 3 cancer, and I had no idea,” he said.
Changes in bowel movements are common for people with colorectal cancer, resulting in constipation, diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal symptoms. Colorectal cancer is the third most common cancer in the US, with the number of early onset cases on the rise.
What Van der Beek recommends
Van der Beek is hoping to help others with his story, inspiring them to monitor their health. "Before my diagnosis, I didn’t know much about colorectal cancer. I didn’t even realize the screening age dropped to 45; I thought it was still 50," he said.
"Just put [screening] on your radar, even if you’re young, even if you’re healthy because unfortunately cases are rising, especially in younger, healthier people."
He recommends the Shield test. "It’s a simple blood draw and it could be done at your next doctor’s appointment," he said. "It’s convenient for people who either can’t take off work to do a colonoscopy or who [face] other barriers to some of the other testing methods."
Van der Beek's battle with cancer
Following his 48th birthday, van der Beek shared a video discussing some of the things that cancer has taught him, revealing that the journey has been difficult in all aspects of his life.
“I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife. I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids, put them to bed, and be there for them. I could not be a provider because I wasn’t working.”
He revealed that cancer had resulted in him developing a deeper relationship with God and realizing that he was worthy of love because he existed. “But, if it’s a trigger that feels too religious, you can take the word God out in your mind, and it can simply be, ‘I am worthy of love.’ Because you are," he said.