James van der Beek explained this week that he was in the “curative stage” of his cancer battle.
“I feel like I can see the finish line,” he said. “Extra” After being revealed as Griffin in “The Masked Singer” on Wednesday. “I'm in the healing phase. That's great. I'll be back to work next month. I'm really relaxed this month.”
The actor told “Extra” he was grateful to be able to wear a mask on the show.
“It was actually really beautiful to wear a mask and connect with an audience without being part of the equation, especially with everything I was experiencing,” he explained.
James van der Beek mistook cancer symptoms for a problem with his diet
James van der Beek explained this week that he was in the “curative stage” of his cancer battle. (Casey Flanigan/Indiewire/Penske Media via Getty Images)
The “Dawson Creek” star revealed last November that he was undergoing treatment for colorectal cancer, and when he turned 48 earlier this month he spoke about the “hardest year” of his life.
“When I was younger, I defined myself as an actor, but it was never so fulfilling, so I became a husband…it got much better and then I became a father…it was the ultimate,” he told 1.6 million followers on Instagram on March 8th.
Van derbik shares six children with his wife Kimberly: Olivia, 14. Joshua, 13; Annabelle, 11; Emilia, 8; Gwendolyn, 6; Jeremiah, 2.
“I feel like I can see the finish line. I'm in the healing phase. This is great. I'm back to work next month. I'm really relaxed this month.”
The father of six pointed out that during his cancer battle he was “forced to see his death rate in his eyes.”
“I had to come from nose to nose with death,” he said. “And all the definitions I cared so deeply about were stripped of from me.”
van der Beek with his wife, Kimberly. (Hulu's Rachel Murray/Getty Images)
“I was away for treatment so I could no longer be a useful husband for my wife,” continued Van der Beek. “I was no longer a father who could pick up his kids and put them to bed and be there for them. I wasn't working, so I couldn't become a provider.”
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During his cancer journey, the actor said that he was “a man with too little skin and weak, alone in an apartment with cancer… what am I?”
The “Varsity Blues” star said at the moment he leaned against his faith.
“I deserve God's love simply because I exist,” van der Biek shared. “And if I deserve God's love, should I deserve myself too?”
Van der Beek revealed the diagnosis of colorectal cancer in November. (Drew Herman/Fox)
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“When I moved this healing portal towards recovery, I wanted to share it with you, as the revelation I came with is almost not in all the prayers and love directed towards me.”
He continues, “I certainly do not claim to know what God is or explain to me. My efforts to connect with him are an ongoing process that is a constant unfolding mystery to me.
“But if it is a trigger that feels too religious, you can take out the word God in your heart, which may simply be “I deserve love.” Because you are there. ”
Tracy Wright from Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
