James Van Der Beek Faced Heartbreaking Health Struggle Before His Death

Prior to his death, James Van Der Beek faced a heartbreaking health struggle.

It was announced on Wednesday that the Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues star had died at 48.

In November 2024, Van Der Beek announced that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in 2023. “I have colorectal cancer,” he said in an interview with PEOPLE. “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.”

At the time, Van Der Beek was feeling optimistic, noting he was “feeling good.” That December, the dad of six revealed he’d be selling autographed and limited edition Varsity Blues-themed merchandise to not only help cover his own finances for his cancer but to other families struggling as well.

Whenever he gave an update on his cancer, Van Der Beek remained positive and optimistic about where things were going. In July, he told TODAY.com he’s “just on the journey… It’s a process. It’ll probably be a process for the rest of my life.” He also said that living with the cancer has been a “full-time job,” but it gave him the chance to find the beauty of just taking things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job.”

Van Der Beek was set to appear at a Dawson’s Creek reunion, benefitting him and F Cancer, but he had to drop out at the last minute after having two stomach viruses. The event, which was put together by Michelle Williams, went on as planned in September, with Dawson’s Creek stars Williams, Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, Mary Beth Peil, John Wesley Shipp, Mary-Margaret Humes, Nina Repeta, Kerr Smith, Meredith Monroe, and Busy Philipps. They did a reading of the pilot script, with Lin-Manuel Miranda stepping in as Dawson Leery.

The fight kept coming for Van Der Beek, who auctioned off some Dawson’s Creek items in December to help pay for medical bills. Also in December, he appeared on Today, opening up about his cancer, calling himself “really fortunate in an unfortunate diagnosis.”

“It’s been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be,” he continued. “It’s required more of me — more patience, more discipline. More strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong, I didn’t know I was this strong.” Van Der Beek declined to get into the details of his treatment, but revealed he’s been “trying a bunch of stuff.”

“I went into shock,” he recalled to Today co-host Craig Melvin of when he learned of his diagnosis. “But you know, one of the things I was really lucky about was as soon as I heard the news, I thought, ‘This is gonna be the best thing to ever happen 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.’”

Van Der Beek’s wife, Kimberly Van Der Beek, announced on his social media pages on Wednesday that he had died. “Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning,” she wrote. “He met his final days with courage, faith, and grace. There is much to share regarding his wishes, love for humanity, and the sacredness of time. Those days will come. For now we ask for peaceful privacy as we grieve our loving husband, father, son, brother, and friend.”