The former Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek celebrated his 48th birthday last month. Sadly, this came after what he describes as the “hardest year of his life” amid his ongoing battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
In celebration of his birthday, the Christian star posted a video to Instagram that was titled “What cancer taught me.” In it, he revealed what he’s taken away from his “48th trip around the sun.”
Van Der Beek Reveals ‘What Cancer Taught Me’
“Today’s my birthday and it has been the hardest year of my life,” Van Der Beek began. “When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never all that fulfilling, and then I became a husband… it was much better and then I became a father… that was the ultimate.”
Van Der Beek and his wife Kimberly are the parents of six children. Their kids are: Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 8, Gwendolyn, 6, and Jeremiah, 2.
Van Der Beek went on to say that his cancer battle forced him to “look my own mortality in the eye.”
“I had to come nose to nose with death,” he explained. “And all those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me.”
“I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife,” Van Der Beek continued. “I could no longer be a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them…I could not be a provider because I wasn’t working.”
After being diagnosed with cancer, Van Der Beek began to question if he was “just a too-skinny, weak guy, alone in an apartment with cancer … what am I?”
It was then that Van Der Beek began to lean on his Christian faith like never before.
‘I Am Worthy Of God’s Love…’
“I am worthy of God’s love simply because I exist,” he stated. “And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own?”
“As I move through this healing portal toward recovery, I wanted to share that with you because that revelation that came to me was in no small part to all the prayers and the love that had been directed toward me,” Van Der Beek added. “I certainly don’t claim to know what God is or explain God, my efforts to connect to God are an ongoing process that is a constant unfolding mystery to me.”
“But, if it’s a trigger that feels too religious, you can take the word God out of your mantra and it can simply be ‘I am worthy of love,'” he concluded. “Because you are.”
Check out Van Der Beek’s full comments on this in the video below.
Colorectal Cancer
Despite his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis, Van Der Beek has remained in good spirits. The Mayo Clinic states that “many treatments can help control” colorectal cancer. These include “surgery, radiation therapy and medicines, such as chemotherapy, targeted therapy and immunotherapy.”
Van Der Beek revealed his cancer diagnosis to the world back in November.
“I have colorectal cancer. I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” he told People Magazine at the time. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
Watch Van Der Beek discuss his diagnosis in the video below.
God bless Van Der Beek for leaning on Jesus Christ during this difficult cancer battle. Please join us in saying a prayer for him as he continues this fight!
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