James Van Beek Reveals His Method for Coping with His Cancer Battle.
Quote from Oladosun Joshua Segun on August 1, 2025, 10:31 PM
The star of Dawson's Creek, James Van Der Beek, is opening out about his experience with illness and how working on the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle has allowed him to find peace while battling stage 3 colorectal cancer.
James stated in an interview with Today on July 30 that. "The greatest thing about work is cancer doesn't exist between action and cut." "It was fun to drop in and just have a blast because it's such a great cast, a great production, and everybody out there is really talented."
For the 48-year-old, being on-set doesn't feel like work because of this. Rather, James views his 2023 cancer diagnosis, which he made public in 2024, as his "full time job," since it has forced him to "take things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job."
The Varsity Blues alum, who has children with wife Kimberly, Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 3, feels he will need to carry this mentality change with him for the rest of his life. "I'm just on the journey," he revealed. "It's a process. It'll probably be a process for the rest of my life."
Additionally, he has had the support of his loved ones during this period, including his co-stars from Dawson's Creek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, and Busy Philipps.
It is designed to "see and hear from James" as he continues his battle, Busy said, adding that they were looking for time to all come together.
“We just have all been really sending him every ounce of good wishes and prayers and hoping for the best.” she told Us Weekly in March.

The star of Dawson's Creek, James Van Der Beek, is opening out about his experience with illness and how working on the Legally Blonde prequel series Elle has allowed him to find peace while battling stage 3 colorectal cancer.
James stated in an interview with Today on July 30 that. "The greatest thing about work is cancer doesn't exist between action and cut." "It was fun to drop in and just have a blast because it's such a great cast, a great production, and everybody out there is really talented."

For the 48-year-old, being on-set doesn't feel like work because of this. Rather, James views his 2023 cancer diagnosis, which he made public in 2024, as his "full time job," since it has forced him to "take things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job."
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The Varsity Blues alum, who has children with wife Kimberly, Olivia, 14, Joshua, 13, Annabel, 11, Emilia, 9, Gwendolyn, 7, and Jeremiah, 3, feels he will need to carry this mentality change with him for the rest of his life. "I'm just on the journey," he revealed. "It's a process. It'll probably be a process for the rest of my life."
Additionally, he has had the support of his loved ones during this period, including his co-stars from Dawson's Creek, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Michelle Williams, and Busy Philipps.

It is designed to "see and hear from James" as he continues his battle, Busy said, adding that they were looking for time to all come together.
“We just have all been really sending him every ounce of good wishes and prayers and hoping for the best.” she told Us Weekly in March.

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