James Van Der Beek Calls His Stage 3 Colorectal Cancer Diagnosis the 'Best Thing That's Ever Happened to Me'

James Van Der Beek is feeling grateful despite a tough year.

The actor, 48, sat down with Craig Melvin for an interview on Today that aired Dec. 19, where he talked about his current condition and what it was like when he was first diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2023.

"I went into shock," Van Der Beek admitted. "But you know, one of the things I was really lucky about was when I heard the news, I was like, ‘This is gonna be the best thing that’s ever happened to me.’"

"I had this little voice in my head that said, ‘You’re gonna make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn’t have this extreme of a diagnosis, and it’s gonna add healthy, happy years to your life.'"

Cancer, he said, has helped him appreciate things in a new light. "I don’t think I knew what it was to slow down before. I don’t think I knew what it was to really look at everything I eat, everything I put in my body."

As for the "biggest change" since he revealed his diagnosis, the Dawson's Creek alum said he's been on a "journey of self-love."

"What I realized was is, I’m still worthy of love — my own love, God’s love."

There's another "gift" that he feels his cancer journey has given him. "I think before cancer, I took all these little, beautiful moments as part of a collective. I was just aware of everything. And now I’m able, much more, to just settle into that exact moment. So presence is really the gift that cancer’s given me."

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The actor, who shares six kids with his wife Kimberly Van Der Beek, also told Melvin that he "would not be alive if it weren’t for my wife."

"She just has stepped up as a caretaker, as a nurse, as head of the household," he said.

"And then my kids, as much as I want to shield them from seeing me in any kind of pain or stress, I wanted to be Superman, Super Dad. You realize that resilience is not only something that they have and can build, but it’s the best thing for them."

Van Der Beek previously appeared on Today in July, calling cancer a "full-time job" as he said, “It’s a process. It’ll probably be a process for the rest of my life.” 

He said at the time he was "feeling great" and appreciating “the beauty of just taking things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job.” 

During the Dec. 19 interview, he said he was feeling "better every month."