Actor James Van Der Beek shares lessons learned amid colon cancer battle
Few would count a cancer diagnosis as a positive life experience, but, according to one longtime Hollywood standout, a bout with the illness can indeed provide invaluable perspectives on life and love.
On the occasion of his 48th birthday, Dawson's Creek star James Van Der Beek posted a video recounting the “hardest year of his life” that has included a battle with colorectal cancer and sharing the enduring things it has taught him, as Fox News reports.
Heartfelt revelations shared
Taking to social media earlier this month, Van Der Beek outlined some of the difficulties faced over the past year and what he believes the critical takeaways to be.
The tear-jerking message began with the simple statement, “Today's my birthday, and it has been the hardest year of my life.”
A married father of six, Van Der Beek explained that when young, acting was a primary part of his identity, but then, “I became a husband...it was much better, and then I became a father...that was the ultimate.”
Cancer, however, he said, has forced him to “look [his] own mortality in the eye. I had to come nose to nose with death. And all those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me.”
Van Der Beek lamented that while away for cancer treatment, “I could no longer be a husband who 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.”
Realizing his worth
Racked with doubt and questioning whether he was nothing more than a “too-skinny weak guy, alone in an apartment with cancer,” Van Der Beek turned to faith, discovering, “I am worthy of God's love simply because I exist. And if I'm worthy of God's love, shouldn't I also be worthy of my own?”
“I certainly don't claim to know what God is or explain God, my efforts to connect to God are an ongoing process that is a constant unfolding mystery to me,” he added, suggesting that even his non-religious fans and followers could take something away from his message.
He said, “You can take the word God out of your mantra, and it can simply be, 'I am worthy of love.' Because you are.”
Cancer battle continues
It was in November of last year that Van Der Beek went public with his diagnosis, noting that while he eventually intended to announce his condition in order to help raise awareness, “that plan had to be altered...when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news.
The beloved actor said at the time, “I'm in a good place and feeling strong,” and though cancer treatment and its attendant disruptions have clearly been a turning point in his life, millions of fans and admirers continue to wish him all the best as he fights a valiant battle against a disease that has sadly seen an alarming increase among younger adults in recent years.
