James Van Der Beek reveals his stage 3 colorectal cancer has affected his marriage: I could not be a provider

James Van Der Beek has opened up about the heartbreaking way his ongoing battle with stage 3 colorectal cancer has affected his marriage – revealing the diagnosis has left him feeling like he cannot provide for his wife and six children.The “Dawson’s Creek” actor first announced his stage three colon cancer diagnosis in Nov.2023, and he discussed his shocking health battle further in an Instagram clip published Saturday after his 48th birthday.The video, titled “What Cancer Taught Me,” began with Van Der Beek telling his more than 1.6 million followers how this past year “has been the hardest of my life.”“When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never all that fulfilling, and then I became a husband and it was much better and then I became a father and that was the ultimate,” the “Dawson’s Creek” star said.“All of those definitions that I cared so deeply about were stripped from me,” he continued after explaining he was forced to be away from his family while seeking and undergoing treatment.“I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband who was helpful to my wife,” Van Der Beek told the camera.

“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.”“I was faced with the question, ‘If I am just a too-skinny, weak guy, alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I?'”However, the “Varsity Blues” actor’s worries were not long-lived because he ultimately turned to religion to help ease his troubled mind.“I am worthy of God’s love simply because I exist,” he realized.

“And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own?”“As I move through this healing portal toward recovery,” Van Der Beek continued, “I wanted to share that with you because that revelation that came to me was in no small part to all the prayers and the love that had been direct...