Actor with colorectal cancer shares simple sign that he ignored: ‘I had no idea’

James van der Beek has revealed the first warning sign of his colon cancer — and it’s one that did not seem alarming at the time.

The “Dawson’s Creek” actor, 48, who announced his colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024, recently told Healthline that “there wasn’t any red flag or something glaring.”

“I was healthy. I was doing the cold plunge,” he said. “I was in amazing cardiovascular shape, and I had stage 3 cancer, and I had no idea.”

COLORECTAL CANCER DIAGNOSES SOAR AMONG YOUNGER ADULTS FOR ONE KEY REASON

The one symptom that he did experience was a change in bowel movements, which the actor chalked up to an effect of his coffee consumption.

“Before my diagnosis, I didn’t know much about colorectal cancer,” van der Beek said. “I didn’t even realize the screening age [had] dropped to 45; I thought it was still 50.”

He ultimately underwent a colonoscopy, which revealed that the actor had stage 3 colon cancer.

Professor Eitan Friedman, M.D., Ph.D., an oncologist and founder of The Suzanne Levy-Gertner Oncogenetics Unit at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, confirmed that changes in bowel habits is the primary red flag that should raise the suspicion of colorectal cancer.

Others include fatigue as a result of anemia, blood in stool, weight loss, loss of appetite and abdominal discomfort, Friedman, who has not treated van der Beek, told Fox News Digital.

“I was in amazing cardiovascular shape, and I had stage 3 cancer, and I had no idea.”

Dr. Erica Barnell, M.D., Ph.D., a physician-scientist at Washington University School of Medicine — and co-founder and chief medical officer at Geneoscopy — noted that van der Beek’s experience of having no “glaring” signs is common.

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“Many colorectal cancers develop silently, without obvious symptoms,” Barnell, who also did not treat the actor, told Fox News Digital. “By the time symptoms appear, the disease may already be advanced.”

Symptoms are “especially worrisome” for those 45 and older who have at least one first-degree relative with colon cancer or other GI malignancies, and those with active inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease, added Friedman, who is also an advisory board member at SpotitEarly, a startup that offers an at-home breath test to detect early-stage cancer signals.

Early detection is key

The overall chance of an average-risk person getting colorectal cancer over a lifetime is 4% to 5%, according to Friedman.

“Colonoscopy at age 45 onwards, at five- to 10-year intervals, has been shown to lead to early detection of polyps that have the potential to become malignant, and to allow for their removal as an effective means of minimizing the risk of malignant transformation,” he said. 

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Unfortunately, Barnell noted, “screening compliance in the U.S. remains below national targets, and gaps are widest in rural, low-income and minority communities.”

To help close those gaps, she called for greater access to “accurate, noninvasive screening technologies,” along with efforts to increase public awareness.

“Most people don’t like talking about bowel habits, but paying attention to changes can save your life,” Barnell said. “Screening gives us the chance to find problems early — often before you feel sick — and that can make all the difference.”

Fox News Digital reached out to van der Beek’s representative for comment.

Bill Belichick’s girlfriend makes odd declaration in phone call to journalists

Jordon Hudson, whose romance with former NFL coach Bill Belichick has been closely followed, continues to make headlines. 

The 24-year-old recently called “The Sports Gossip Show,” co-hosts Charlotte Wilder and Madison Hill said.

Hudson’s relationship with Belichick had been a topic of conversation on the podcast in the past. Wilder recalled the encounter with Hudson during a recent episode, saying the former cheerleader introduced herself as “the president of your universe.”

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The video description for the episode, titled “Jordon Hudson called us and it didn’t end well,” said Hudson called Wilder roughly two weeks prior to the latest show’s publication date.

The description also noted that show has “covered” Hudson’s personal and professional life “extensively.” At one point during the conversation, the podcasters joked Hudson has been their “white whale,” shortly before recalling attending the Miss Maine pageant. Hudson competed in the pageant.

PODCAST HOST SAYS JORDON HUDSON ‘CHOREOGRAPHED’ PORTION OF BILL BELICHICK’S RECENT INTERVIEW

The hosts said Hudson began following them on social media after they posted about and covered the pageant. After realizing Hudson was a social media follower, the podcasters said they reached out to request Hudson be a guest of the show.

She later unfollowed the account, the hosts said.

After making initial contact, “Madeline and Charlotte then spent five hours over the course of the week talking to her, and thought there was a good chance she would come on the show,” per the description.

When she called, Wilder said Hudson introduced herself as “the president of your universe.” Wilder said the intent behind Hudson’s call was not immediately clear. Wilder eventually determined Hudson primarily wanted to discuss their coverage of the Miss Maine pageant.

Hill was later brought into the discussion. The three then engaged in group FaceTime calls.

At one point, the podcasters said Hudson suggested she would be open to coming on the podcast for an interview.

Wilder also alluded to some miscommunication surrounding the Miss Maine edition of the show that was initially believed to be Hudson’s primary concern.

“She’s yelling at me. She’s crying. She said that she finished the rest of the Miss Maine episode and she didn’t like what we said,” Wilder said. “And I was like, ‘Wait what?’ I was like, ‘I thought we’ve been talking about the Miss Maine episode that we did that you watched the whole time?'”

Wilder admitted “there was this tension in the calls” and it “felt like we were always waiting for the other shoe to drop.” The host said they gave Hudson a heads-up that they would discuss the exchange they had with her on the podcast regardless if she ended up being a guest.

Belichick is scheduled to make his North Carolina football head coaching debut on Sept. 1. Tar Heels football players have insisted the coach’s personal life hasn’t disrupted the team in any way. 

“Social media can promote some narrative, but that was not a distraction to us at all,” wide receiver Jordan Shipp said. “There was never a problem, like people saying she was running practice. We’d never really see her in the building. That was never a problem.”

Belichick described the increased attention focused on his personal life as “just noise.”

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“Sometimes it’s noisy, and sometimes it isn’t,” the coach told ESPN. “Sometimes with the Patriots it was noisy, too.”

Fox News Digital reached out to Hudson for comment.

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