Reading Time: 3 minutes
James Van Der Beek is battling stage 3 cancer.
He has been open about his health battle, encouraging others to undergo screenings before it’s too late.
But there is more to his cancer journey than medical treatments — because he is not going through this alone.
Van Der Beek is sharing how he and his wife discuss his cancer with their children, who have a wide age range. Keeping secrets, he says, would only make the situation more painful for them.
James Van Der Beek and his wife spoke to all of their children about his cancer
On the Wednesday, July 30 episode of Today, James Van Der Beek explained to hosts and to NBC viewers how he and his wife, Kimberly, had discussed his illness with their six children.
In August 2023, the actor received his diagnosis of colorectal cancer.
He went public with the news in November 2023. The cancer is in stage three.
“I’m far from an expert,” 48-year-old Van Der Beek admitted when it comes to talking to kids about cancer.
“But,” Van Der Beek explained, “our approach was just to be as honest as possible.”
He reasoned: “as honest to the degree of their understanding, right? Because they know.”
His eldest child, Olivia, is 14. Joshua is 13, Annabel is 11, Emilia is 9, and Gwendolyn is 6.
Their youngest, Jeremiah, is only 2. Likely, Jeremiah is the only one of them too young to grasp anything more than “sick.“
Children notice things
At the risk of understating things, James Van Der Beek noted that even his youngest children can “sense that Dad’s having a tough day.”
He continued: “They know if Dad’s in pain. They know, and so by not telling them, I think you’re confusing them even more.”
Perhaps his biggest advice is that parents should allow their children to provide emotional support.
“When you tell them what you’re doing and you tell them the approach, they can see it and they can feel it,” Van Der Beek explained.
“And I think it’s also, your journey is their journey,” he added. “I have kids making me tea. ‘Dad, what do you need?’”
Van Der Beek gushed:
“There’s been a lot of beauty that’s come out of it, but I would love to save everybody [from] this journey, which is why I’m saying get screened.”
Cancer screening saves lives
Since his diagnosis, James Van Der Beek has been an advocate for screening. The biggest key to beating cancer is to catch it early and begin treatments immediately.
He is perhaps best known for playing the titular Dawson in Dawson’s Creek, but his career has taken him all over the place.
From films like Varsity Blues and The Rules of Attraction to portraying himself on Don’t Trust The B, he is a one-man acting institution.
We are all rooting for Van Der Beek. And, clearly, his children are supporting him along the way.
