Battling Colon Cancer
- James Van Der Beek, 48, is still undergoing treatment for stage 3 colon cancer, but he remains committed to spending quality time with his family and making lifestyle changes to support his health as much as possible.
- Colorectal screenings are generally advised starting at age 45, but individuals with higher risk factors, such as a family history of colon cancer, may need earlier testing. Consulting a doctor about screening options is recommended.
- Colon cancers start out as a polyp, or small growth, in the colon that causes no symptoms. Although polyps can’t be felt, they can be picked up by screening tests before they cause a problem. It takes up to 10 years for a colon polyp to become a full-blown cancer, which gives doctors time to remove the polyp before it causes a problem.
- The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommends that state colon cancer screenings begin at 45 years old. This is in response to a rise in colon cancer diagnoses in younger adults. In the past, the disease had predominantly been found in adults 50 years or older, but for those predisposed to get it at a younger age, these new guidelines could potentially help catch it at an earlier stage.
The actor, who has also appeared in films like “The Rules of Attraction” and “Varsity Blues,” often takes time to share sweet photos of his family on social media—despite having stepped back from public appearances to prioritize his health following his August 2023 diagnosis. He most recently enjoyed dressing up for Halloween with his wife and children, Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, Joshua, and Jeremiah.
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On the day of the missed event, Van Der Beek wrote on Instagram, “This is the evening I’d been looking forward to MOST since my angel Michelle Williams said she was putting it together, way back in January… So you can imagine how gutted I was when two stomach viruses conspired to knock me out of commission and keep me grounded at the worst possible moment.
“Despite every effort… I won’t get to be there. I won’t get to stand on that stage and thank every soul in the theater for showing up for me, and against cancer, when I needed it most.”
He concluded, “Everyone, please enjoy all the love in that room. Shine some on my family. I will be beaming and receiving from afar in a bed in Austin.”
Since Van Der Beek has chosen to keep the details of his colon cancer journey and treatment private, it’s unknown what side effects he may be experiencing or how they are affecting his body.
However, since his diagnosis, Van Der Beek has returned to acting by taking on the role of Dean Wilson in the new “Legally Blonde” prequel, “Elle.”
His journey has also led him to have a deeper relationship with God and a renewed discovery of self-love after feeling as if cancer had “stripped” him of his normal duties.
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In a video clip shared on Van Der Beek’s birthday earlier this year, the beloved actor admitted, “It has been the hardest year of my life.”
He explained, “When I was younger, I used to define myself as an actor, which was never really all that fulfilling. And then I became a husband, and that was much better. And then I became a father, and that was the ultimate. I could define myself then as a loving, capable, strong, supportive husband, father, provider … and for a long time, that felt like a really good definition.”
Van Der Beek continued, “And then this year, I had to look my own mortality in the eye. I had to come nose to nose with death. And all of those definitions I cared so much about were stripped from me.”
“I was away for treatment, so I could no longer be a husband. I could no longer be a father and 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.”
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He concluded, “If I am a too-skinny, weak guy alone in an apartment with cancer, what am I? And I meditated and the answer came through: I am worthy of God’s love. Simply because I exist,” he said with raw emotion in his eyes.
“And if I’m worthy of God’s love, shouldn’t I also be worthy of my own? And the same is true for you.”
Van Der Beek has also embraced lifestyle changes to support his body during his cancer battle, telling TODAY.com that he has started stretching more, practicing yoga, and exploring whether a keto diet suits him.
Expert Resources on Colon Cancer
- Can a Blood Test Screen for Colon Cancer? Guardant Health Chief Medical Officer Shares Promising Update
- 5 Possible Signs of Colon Cancer; Don’t Be Afraid to Look in the Toilet!
- Biomarkers in Colon Cancer: Understanding KRAS, BRAF, and HER2
- Anxiety Around Colon Cancer Diagnosis
- Stage Three Means Cancer Has Spread Outside the Colon Wall
- All Americans Should Begin Colorectal Cancer Screening at Age 45, According to New Guidelines; Previous Age Was 50
Offering some insight into how he’s doing, Van Der Beek said, “I’m just on the journey. … It’s a process. It’ll probably be a process for the rest of my life,” further added he’s learning, “The beauty of just taking things a little bit more slowly and prioritizing rest and really allowing that to be the job.”
As for getting back to acting, he told TODAY.com, “The greatest thing about work is cancer doesn’t exist between action and cut.
“It was fun to drop in and just have a blast because it’s such a great cast, a great production, and everybody out there is really talented.”
We’re delighted to see Van Der Beek still able to flourish in his personal life, in addition to calling other men to check for colorectal cancer, a disease he was diagnosed with after his bowel issues prompted him to get checked.
He recently partnered with Shield Cancer Screen to promote how easy it is to get tested for the disease he’s battling. Shield is the first blood-based test authorized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to be used as a main screening tool for colorectal cancer.
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Van Der Beek advised, “I mean, with SHIELD, you could get screened with a blood test, it’s that simple. There’s just no reason not to do it.
“You have to deal with what actually is, and the more you know, the sooner you know it, when it comes to cancer, the better off you’re going to be.”
If You’re Battling Colon Cancer, These Are Important Questions To Ask After a Diagnosis
- Has genetic testing been performed to assess for hereditary colon cancer syndromes?
- What kind of surgery is needed?
- Following surgery: What were the findings regarding margins and lymph nodes?
- What chemotherapy regimen is recommended, including the medications and number of treatment cycles?
- Is there a post-treatment follow-up plan, including any imaging, colonoscopies, or blood work?
- How can a patient maintain quality of life and cope with treatment side effects?
- Is it possible to resume work and family activities during treatment?
- How can diet and lifestyle be adjusted to help manage side effects and support recovery during colon cancer treatment?
RELATED: What to Know About Diet and Exercise if You Have Cancer
What Treatment Looks Like for Stage 3 Colon Cancer
Van Der Beek hasn’t disclosed his treatment plan, but we know that at the stage he was diagnosed with, stage 3, the colon cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes, signaling a more aggressive disease that requires a comprehensive treatment approach.
“Stage 3 means that there’s some cancer in the lymph nodes,” explains Dr. Heather Yeo, a colorectal surgeon and surgical oncologist, in an interview with SurvivorNet. She emphasizes that patients facing this diagnosis should seriously consider chemotherapy as part of their treatment plan.
“Colon cancer patients with stage 3 should at least have a conversation about undergoing chemotherapy,” she says.
WATCH: Stage Three Means Cancer Has Spread Outside the Colon Wall
Despite the seriousness of the diagnosis, there is reason for optimism.
“Stage 3 cancers have probably a 50% to 60% survival at five years,” Dr. Yeo adds, underscoring the potential for long-term recovery when treatment is timely and effective.
The standard protocol for stage 3 colon cancer typically begins with surgery to remove the tumor and affected lymph nodes. This is followed by adjuvant chemotherapy—treatment administered after surgery to eliminate any remaining cancer cells that may have spread beyond the colon.
Adjuvant chemotherapy usually begins within six to eight weeks after surgery, once the patient has recovered. One of the most widely used regimens is FOLFOX, a combination of fluorouracil, oxaliplatin, and leucovorin. However, other chemotherapy options may be considered based on individual patient needs and emerging research.
“Now, for the chemotherapy, there certainly are newer agents and newer choices that could be integrated into a clinical trial,” notes Dr. Daniel Labow, Chief of the Surgical Oncology Division at Mount Sinai Health System. He adds, “Patients with stage 3 are often cured, with both surgery and chemotherapy.”
Even with successful treatment, vigilance remains essential. The risk of recurrence within five years is estimated to be between 20% and 25%, making follow-up care and monitoring a vital part of survivorship.
Chemotherapy After Surgery: A Critical Step in Treating Stage 3 Colon Cancer
The goal: reduce the risk of recurrence and improve long-term survival.
“Once a person completes that chemotherapy, we expect that they’re done,” says Dr. Paul Oberstein, a medical oncologist specializing in gastrointestinal cancers. “They need to be watched very closely so that if there are signs that this has come back, we detect it early.”
WATCH: Using Chemo to Treat Stage 3 Colon Cancer
Post-surgical chemotherapy typically lasts between three and six months and involves a regimen of medications proven in clinical trials to be most effective at preventing the cancer from returning. The most widely used combination is known as FOLFOX—a protocol that includes three drugs:
- 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)
- Leucovorin
- Oxaliplatin
These medications are administered intravenously, usually every two weeks. Patients are connected to an IV pole during treatment sessions, which take place in a clinical setting. The process may feel routine, but its impact is anything but.
Some examples of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved chemotherapy drug treatments include:
- FOLFOX: leucovorin, 5-FU, and oxaliplatin (Eloxatin)
- FOLFIRI: leucovorin, 5-FU, and irinotecan (Camptosar)
- CAPEOX or CAPOX: capecitabine (Xeloda) and oxaliplatin
- FOLFOXIRI: leucovorin, 5-FU, oxaliplatin, and irinotecan
- Trifluridine and tipiracil (Lonsurf)
Options Exist for Colon Cancer Treatment
“There are a lot of advances being made in colorectal cancer,” Dr. Yeo, a colorectal surgeon at Weill Cornell Medicine, previously told SurvivorNet.
Colon cancer treatment is more targeted, meaning doctors often test for specific changes or genetic mutations that cause cancer growth.
Biomarkers are key to tailoring specific treatments. Biomarkers are molecular patterns becoming more commonly used in colon cancer diagnosis, prognosis, and management. According to the National Cancer Institute, a biomarker is “a biological molecule found in blood, other body fluids, or tissues that is a sign of a normal or abnormal process, or a condition or disease,” such as cancer.
“In colon cancer, we’re starting to look more and more at people’s biomarkers, so we’re starting to take the cancers, sequence them, understand where the different mutations are to figure out whether or not someone has a normal gene here or an abnormal gene,” Dr. Yeo explained.
“Those are the areas that people want to be able to target a little bit more. We’re getting close to more of what we would call precision medicine, meaning we can start looking at people’s genetic mutations and think about how they might respond to different drugs.”
There are different types of biomarkers, including DNA, proteins, and genetic mutations found in blood, tumor tissue, or other body fluids. The biomarkers most commonly used in colon cancer management are:
- Genetic mutations within the tumor, such as MMR/MSI, KRAS, BRAF, and HER2
- Bloodstream carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)
CEA is a protein produced by most tumor cells (but not all) and can be picked up in the bloodstream. High CEA levels do not establish a colon cancer diagnosis. However, higher CEA levels correlate with a worse prognosis and potential metastasis. Carcinoembryonic antigen is important for post-treatment follow-up to ensure the cancer hasn’t returned. Be sure to check with your doctor before treatment starts to ensure a CEA blood sample has been obtained.
Inherited Genetic Disorders in Colon Cancer: FAP
Diet Matters
In addition to scheduling regular colonoscopies (the screening method for detecting colorectal cancer, which is also referred to as CRC), people should also pay close attention to what they put into their bodies.
A JAMA study back in 2021 found “convincing evidence for an association between lower CRC risk and higher intakes of dietary fiber, dietary calcium, and yogurt, and lower intakes of alcohol and red meat.
Choosing Health After Colon Cancer Diagnosis — Watch: ‘The Day I Became Alive’ on SNTV
Here are more foods to include in your diet to prevent colon cancer:
- Fruits, which are rich in antioxidants
- Whole grains, which provide fiber that, in turn, fights bacteria in your colon
- Nuts contain healthy fatty acids that are necessary for a healthy colon
- Beans, which offer an essential blend of fiber, protein, and vitamins
- Vegetables, especially green veggies, which are full of fiber and minerals
What Increases Your Risk for Colon Cancer?
Risk factors are things that make you more likely to get colon cancer. They don’t mean that you’ll definitely get this cancer — only that you may be more likely to be diagnosed.
You may be at greater risk for colon cancer if you:
- Are older. About 90% of cases are in people age 50 or older, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC). Yet it is possible to get this cancer earlier in life.
- Have inflammatory bowel disease. Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis can, over time, cause cells in your intestines to turn cancerous.
- Have a family history of this cancer. Just under one-third of people who get colon cancer have family members with the disease.
- Have a gene mutation. About 5% of colorectal cancers are caused by an inherited genetic mutation that causes syndromes such as familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) or hereditary nonpolyposis colorectal cancer (Lynch syndrome).
- Don’t exercise very often. Staying active can lower your risk.
- Eat a diet that’s high in meat (there’s that meat again). Regularly eating red meats like burgers and steaks, and processed meats such as hot dogs and bacon, might put you at a higher risk. As noted, eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains instead might lower your risk.
- Are overweight or obese. Having too much weight increases your risk of both getting colon cancer and of dying from it.
- Drink a lot of alcohol. Limiting alcohol to one drink a day for women and two drinks daily for men could help lower your risk.
- Use tobacco. Long-term smokers are more likely to get this cancer than are nonsmokers.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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