What James Van Der Beek Said About His Cancer Battle Before His Death

What James Van Der Beek Said About His Health, Cancer Battle Before His Death at 48

James Van Der Beek was determined to see the silver lining when he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2023.

He admittedly "went into shock," he told Today's Craig Melvin in an interview that aired Dec. 19. But, "as soon as I heard the news, I thought, 'This is going to be the best thing that ever happened to me. I had this little voice in my head that said, 'You're going to make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn't have this extreme of a diagnosis.'"

And the Dawson's Creek alum made those adjustments, putting acting on the back burner not just to focus on his health, but to spend precious time with his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek and their six children. 

As he said at the time, "Presence is really the gift that cancer has given me." 

Sadly—and unfathomably for a certain generation of WB fans—Van Der Beek died Feb. 11 at the age of 48.

"He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace," his family said in a statement on Instagram. "There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friends."

Marking his 48th birthday on March 8, 2025, he acknowledged that he had just experienced "the hardest year" of his life.

"When I was younger I used to define myself as an actor, which was never really all that fulfilling," he said in a video posted to Instagram. "And then I became a husband, which was much better. And then I became a father, and that was the ultimate. I could define myself then as a loving, capable, strong, supportive husband and father, provider, steward of the land that we're so lucky to live on.

That used to be the answer, said the dad to Olivia, 15, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 12, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 4.

"Then, this year, I had to look my own mortality in the eye," he continued, "and come nose-to-nose with death. And all of 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 that was helpful to my wife. 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. I couldn't even be a steward of the land because at times I was too weak to prune all the trees during the winter."

He was feeling well enough last summer to film the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle. But fans expressed concern at his physical appearance when he made a pre-recorded video appearance at a live Dawson's Creek script reading in September, organized to benefit him and the nonprofit F Cancer.

He had been scheduled to join castmates Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson and Michelle Williams for the event in New York, but had to bow out due to a stomach virus.

"It's required more of me," he explained, "more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong. I didn't know I was this strong."

Van Der Beek's final Instagram post was a joint birthday tribute to daughter Annabel, who turned 12 Jan. 25, and the actor's father.

"In this crazy world, it’s a wonder to me that you’ve managed to stay so open, so tender, and so genuinely good," he wrote. "You are marvels… and I’m so insanely grateful to have you in my life. The world is a better place because the two of you are in it."

And while it's a sadder place without him, see how Van Der Beek made the most of his life and career in photos: