James Van Der Beek touched many hearts as he spoke candidly about his experience discussing his cancer diagnosis with his children. In a recent chat on Today on July 30, the 48-year-old actor, who has been battling stage 3 colorectal cancer for the past eight months, opened up about the difficult conversation he had with his kids regarding his health scare.
“I’m far from an expert, but our approach was just to be as honest as possible, as honest to the degree of their understanding, right? Because they know,” James explained during the third hour of the show. The Dawson’s Creek star noted that his children “can sense that Dad’s having a tough day.”
“They know if Dad’s in pain. They know, and so by not telling them, I think you’re confusing them even more,” James continued. Taking the moment to offer advice to other parents, he encouraged them to inform their children if they are facing similar situations.
“When you tell them what you’re doing, and you tell them the approach, they can see it and they can feel it, and I think it’s also your journey is their journey,” he urged. Referring to his six children—Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, Joshua, and Jeremiah, whom he shares with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek—James added, “I have kids making me tea. ‘Dad, what do you need?’ There’s been a lot of beauty that’s come out of it, but I would love to save everybody this journey, which is why I’m saying get screened.”
