James Van Der Beek shared his gratitude for family and friends this Thanksgiving, following his shock cancer diagnosis.
The Dawson’s Creek star, 47, penned an emotional Instagram post on Thursday, where he praised his ‘super human wife’ Kimberly Van Der Beek, 42, for her ‘unconditional love.’
The actor, who recently revealed that he’s been battling colorectal cancer, also thanked their six children for keeping him ‘present, active, and inspired.’
Additionally, James shared a touching image of him with Kimberly and their children, daughters Olivia, 14, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, and Gwendolyn, six, and sons Joshua, 12, and Jeremiah, two, which was shot by Claiborne Swanson Frank.
‘It’s been a tough year… and I’m thankful for all of it. For the giant life re-direct cancer has placed in my path,’ he shared in his caption.
‘For the gift of knowing what it feels like to have friends come through on such a profound level, and in ways I never would have been able to ask for had I not been going through it.’
James Van Der Beek, 47, shared his gratitude for his ‘super human wife’ Kimberly, 42, and their six kids this Thanksgiving, following his shock cancer diagnosis
He went on, adding, ‘I’m grateful for this new relationship I have to my body, and what I feed it.’
James shared that he was ‘grateful to each and every one of you who has reached out and sent good vibes and prayers. It all lands and makes a difference.’
He then thanked Kimberly, to whom he’s been married since 2010.
‘And I’m more grateful than ever to my super human wife who has shown up on levels I never knew possible. Who has shown me what unconditional love is and the magic that comes from that. I am in awe of you, @vanderkimberly.’
Lastly, he thanked his kids, writing, ‘of course, I’m beyond thankful the little blond army of hearts who keep me present, active, and inspired just by being you. I love you guys beyond.’
The serene image he posted featured his whole family posing in a lush green field, with James in the center, a broad smile on his face.
James’ marriage to Kimberly is his second, after he was married to the actress Heather Ann McComb from 2003 to 2009.
The Connecticut native — who underwent a vasectomy before learning of his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis — and Kimberly married in August of 2010 in Israel, and they welcomed the first of their six children just a month after wedding.
Following his diagnosis, the entertainer— who moved away from Los Angeles four years earlier to start a new life with his family in Texas — has kept working.
He recently looked dashing at the FOX Winter Press Day red carpet in Los Angeles last week.
The Dawson’s Creek star penned an emotional Instagram post on Thursday, where he praised his ‘super human wife’ Kimberly Van Der Beek, 42, for her ‘unconditional love’
‘I am in awe of you,’ James, who recently revealed that he’s been battling stage 3 colorectal cancer, wrote, adding he is ‘more grateful than ever’ for her; the pair seen in September
The actor also thanked their six children — daughters Olivia, 14, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, and Gwendolyn, six, and sons Joshua, 12, and Jeremiah, two — for keeping him ‘present, active, and inspired’
James — who’s been married to Kimberly since 2010 — admitted that it’s been a ‘tough year’ but said he’s ‘thankful for all of it’
Most recently, he appeared on an episode of Walker and is next set to star in Sidelined: The QB and Me, which comes out later this month.
Earlier this month he also shared the first symptom that lead to his cancer diagnosis – and recalled the devastating moment he found out he had the disease.
He told People that he was ‘in amazing cardiovascular shape’ and always ‘tried to eat healthy,’ so he never expected to get cancer.
‘I’d always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles,’ he added.
The actor revealed that he endured a ‘change in his bowel movements’ last summer, but still didn’t think it was something serious.
‘I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee, or maybe not put cream in the coffee,’ he continued.
‘But when I cut that out and it didn’t improve, I thought, “All right, I better get this checked out.”‘
He then underwent a colonoscopy, and received the heartbreaking news that he had stage 3 colorectal cancer.
James told the outlet that he was undergoing treatment but didn’t divulge any details on it.
He added that he’s ‘cautiously optimistic’ during this ‘place of healing,’ and insisted that his ‘energy levels are great.’
Following his diagnosis, the entertainer has kept working. He recently looked dashing at the FOX Winter Press Day red carpet in Los Angeles on November 18 (pictured)
James told People that he was undergoing treatment for his cancer, but didn’t divulge any details on it. He added that he’s ‘cautiously optimistic’
He first announced his diagnosis on Instagram at the beginning of November. At the time he wrote that he was ‘in a good place and feeling strong’
When asked what the hardest part was, James said all of the ‘unknowns.’
‘As someone who likes answers, not knowing is one of the hardest things,’ he explained. ‘This has been a crash course in the mastery of mind, body, and spirit.
‘I thought, “This is either going to take me out of the body, or it’s going to teach me how to truly live in it.”‘
The Rules of Attraction alum shared the news that he had been diagnosed with cancer via Instagram.
At the time, he said he’d been told that a tabloid was planning to publish a story about it, so he was forced to share it online sooner than he would have liked to have gone public with it.
‘”It is cancer.” Each year, approximately two billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I’m one of them,’ he wrote.
‘There’s no playbook for how to announce these things, but I’d planned on talking about it at length with People magazine at some point soon… to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms.
‘But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news.’
The father-of-six added that he had been ‘getting treatment’ in private, and apologized to the people ‘in his life’ who had to find out through the post.
James is best known for starring as Dawson Leery alongside Katie Holmes in the TV series Dawson’s Creek, which aired for six seasons, from 1998 to 2003; seen in a 1998 still with Katie
‘I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before,’ he continued.
‘I’m in a good place and feeling strong. It’s been quite the initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready.’
‘Apologies to all the people in my life who I’d planned on telling myself. Nothing about this process has occurred on my preferred timeline…’
‘But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, pointing us toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention.’
James is best known for starring as Dawson Leery alongside Katie Holmes in the TV series Dawson’s Creek, which aired for six seasons, from 1998 to 2003.
