James Van Der Beek is opening up about a health battle.
The “Dawson’s Creek” alum told People magazine in a statement published Sunday that he has colorectal cancer.
“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family,” his statement said.
Van Der Beek, 47, added: “There’s reason for optimism, and I’m feeling good.”
CNN has reached out to a representative for Van Der Beek for comment.
Australia has one of the highest rates of bowel cancer in the world; 1 in 15 Australians will develop the disease in their lifetime, according to Bowel Cancer Australia.
In the United States, about 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with colorectal cancer in their lifetime, according to the American Cancer Society.
Van Der Beek did not disclose any further details about his treatment and has not addressed his diagnosis on social media.
Van Der Beek has six children with his wife Kimberly. He recently shared photos of his family celebrating Halloween on Instagram.
“My six year-old was devastated that her angel costume would not arrive in time for trick-or-treating,” he wrote in the caption. “She was given the project of making her own halo, which she worked on for HOURS – wrapping yellow yarn around some garden wire.”
Once his daughter completed the halo, he wrote, “the look of pride on her face upon seeing the final project in the mirror was, for me… my favorite moment of Halloween.”
The actor is best known for playing the title role on teen drama “Dawson’s Creek,” which ran from 1998 to 2003. Recently, he had guest appearances on an episode of “Walker” and will appear in the Tubi movie “Sidelined: The QB and Me” later this month.
