Dawson's Creek James Van Der Beek has announced that he has been diagnosed with colorectal cancer.
The actor has said that he and his family "deeply appreciate all the love and support", and that "there's reason for optimism".
Taking to Instagram, Van Der Beek has also apologised to his loved ones who only learned of his cancer diagnosis through the press.
"'It is cancer…' Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I’m one of them", Van Der Beek stated. "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", he continued. "I’ve been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialling in my overall health with greater focus than ever before".
"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".
He added: "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.
"Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support. More to come…".
James Van Der Beek is known for his role as Dawson Leery in US teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003.
