‘Dawson’s Creek’ star announces cancer diagnosis. ‘It’s been quite the initiation.’

James Van Der Beek, the actor who shot to fame in the ’90s as the star of TV’s “Dawson’s Creek,” announced he has cancer.
Van Der Beek, 47, shared the news on Instagram Sunday.
“It is cancer…” he began his post.
“Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I’m one of them.”
In a separate statement, Van Der Beek told People magazine he has colorectal cancer, which comes from polyps in the lining of the colon.
“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” he said in the statement. “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
On Instagram, the actor said he had planned to make the announcement later but a tabloid forced his hand.
“There’s no playbook for how announce these things, but I’d planned on talking about it at length with People magazine at some point soon… to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms. But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news,” Van Der Beek said in the caption of his family photo slideshow. “I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. I’m in a good place and feeling strong.”
The “Dawson’s Creek” star, who hails from Cheshire, Connecticut, attended Drew University in Madison, New Jersey. He played Dawson Leery for all six seasons of the WB series, from 1998 to 2003.
His other TV credits include “Don’t Trust the B—- in Apartment 23,” “CSI: Cyber” and “Pose,” and his film credits include “Varsity Blues” (1998), “Texas Rangers” (2001) and “The Rules of Attraction” (2002).
He has a role in the upcoming Tubi film “Sidelined: The QB and Me,” due out Nov. 29.
On Dec. 9, Van Der Beek can be seen in the two-hour Fox special “The Real Full Monty” alongside other celebrities like Anthony Anderson and Taye Diggs. Inspired by the 1997 movie, they will strip to raise awareness for colorectal, prostate and testicular cancer research and testing.
Van Der Beek has six children with his wife of 14 years, Kimberly Van Der Beek (née Brook).
“It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready,” the actor said of his diagnosis in the Instagram post. “Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline… But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention. Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support. More to come…”
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Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at [email protected] and followed at @AmyKup.