Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek has died after a public two-year battle with colorectal cancer.
The actor’s loved ones confirmed his passing in an emotional Instagram post on Wednesday. He was 48 years old.
The post read: ‘Our beloved James David Van Der Beek passed peacefully this morning. 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.’
Van Der Beek announced his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024 when he was 47 years old, putting him into the cancer category of early-onset, diagnoses before the age of 50.
Colorectal cancer (CRC) includes cancers of either the colon and rectum. The actor did not specify which type of CRC he was diagnosed with, but as a group, the cancers are on the rise among people under 50, as more experience subtle symptoms that are often dismissed or misdiagnosed.
Dr Ryan Moore, a colon and rectal surgeon at Hackensack University Medical Center in New Jersey, told Daily Mail that historically ‘symptoms in younger adults might have been attributed to more benign conditions,’ but now there is a ‘lower threshold to investigate for colorectal cancer.’
Symptoms to watch for, according to Moore, include persistent changes in bowel habits – diarrhea, constipation, narrower stools – rectal bleeding or blood in stool, abdominal pain and/or cramping, fatigue and unexplained weight loss.
James Van Der Beek announced his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024 when he was 47 years old
Van Der Beek is pictured above in May 2025 at the Los Angeles premiere of the Prime video series ‘Overcompensating’ at Hollywood Palladium
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), nearly 158,800 Americans are expected to be diagnosed with CRC in 2026 and about 55,230 people will die.
CRC is the fourth-most common cancer and it accounts for nearly nine percent of all cancer deaths, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) reports.
Rates of CRC have, when accounting for all ages, been on the decline for decades. In 2022, the latest data available from the National Cancer Institute, the rate of incidence was 35 cases per 100,000 people and the death rate was 12.8 per 100,000 people.
A decade earlier, the figures were 37.8 cases per 100,000 people and 14.8 deaths per 100,000 people.
However, cases of colon and rectal cancer in young people are on the rise.
‘We are seeing a real and concerning rise in colorectal and rectal cancers in adults under 50,’ Dr Amar Rewari, a radiation oncologist, told Daily Mail. ‘In fact, rates have been steadily increasing for several decades in younger age groups, even as overall colorectal cancer rates in older adults have declined.’
He added: ‘This shift is why screening guidelines were lowered from age 50 to 45. What is most troubling is that many younger patients are diagnosed at later stages because neither they nor their doctors initially suspect cancer.’
For many patients, the signs of colon cancer or subtle or easily mistaken for other conditions. For Karina Ureña, a 30-year-old from California, it was nagging stomach pain and vomiting as she trained for a marathon, which she thought was ‘just my period.’ After ignoring the symptoms were several months, she was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer.
Marisa Peters, who was diagnosed with stage three rectal cancer at age 39, had specks of blood on her toilet paper, which doctors said was likely hemorrhoids from recently giving birth to her son.
After turning 40, Tracey Robert was confronted with constant bloating, constipation, and increasing rectal bleeding, despite being in excellent health and following a vegan diet. For two decades, she thought she had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) but was instead diagnosed with stage 2B to 3A colorectal cancer.
Van Der Beek is known for his role in the popular TV show Dawson’s Creek
The actor is survived by his wife and six children
According to the ACS, between 2013 and 2022, CRC rates rose about three percent per year in people under 50.
Similar to cases, while deaths overall are declining, that progress is confined to older adults. Death rates in people under 55 have increased by about one percent per year since the mid-2000s.
‘The numbers bring a new level of urgency to the issue of early-onset colorectal cancer and screenings, as colon cancer is a treatable disease when caught early,’ Moore Daily Mail.
The average five-year survival rate for colorectal cancers is 65 percent.
However, that rate ranges depending on whether the cancer has spread. If it is still local, the survival rate is 92 percent; 75 percent if it has spread to nearby organs or tissues; and 16 percent if it has spread to far-reaching areas of the body.
