James Van Der Beek’s colorectal cancer announcement: What are the symptoms and treatment

James Van Der Beek shocked fans when he announced his colorectal cancer diagnosis.

The “Varsity Blues” actor told People magazine, “I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family.”

Despite the diagnosis, Van Der Beek has been working, appearing on “Walker” and in the Nov. 29 Tubi release, “Sidelined: The QB and Me.” He is also scheduled to appear in “The Real Full Monty” a special where male celebrities will perform to raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer. It is not known if he had planned on taking part in the benefit before or after he was diagnosed with cancer, the “Today” show reported.

The 47-year-old actor has also been spending time with his wife and six children, taking a trip to Egypt in June, People reported.

Van Der Beek apologized to those in his life who didn’t know about the diagnosis, saying that he had “planned on telling myself,” E! News reported.

He was going to talk to People “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 wrote on Instagram on Sunday.

What you need to know about colorectal cancer

The American Cancer Society said 1 in 23 men and 1 in 25 women will be diagnosed with the illness over their lifetime.

It typically starts as polyps in the lining of the colon or rectum. Polyps are common as people age, and most are not cancer, but can change into cancer over time. The potential to change into cancer depends on the type of polyp.

Adenomatous polyps can become cancerous so are considered a precancerous condition. There are three types of adenomatous polyps: tubular, villous and tubulovillous. Tubulars are the most common while villous are the least but of the three are the most likely to become cancer.

There are also hyperplastic polyps and inflammatory polyps. These two types are most common but are typically not precancerous. But for people with polyps larger than 1 centimeter, may have to undergo colonoscopies more often.

Finally, there are sessile serrated polyps (SSP) and traditional serrated adenomas (TSA) which are treated like adenomas and have a higher risk of becoming cancer, the American Cancer Society said.

It is more likely for a person to develop colorectal cancer if polyps are more than 1 centimeter, more than three polyps are found, or if the polyp has dysplasia, or the cells look abnormal but have not turned cancerous.

Colorectal cancer and spread from a polyp to the wall of the colon or rectum. When the cancer cells are in the wall of either area, they can then grow into blood vessels or lymph vessels, eventually into lymph nodes and other parts of the body. The stage of cancer depends now how deeply it embeds itself into the wall of the colon or rectum and if it has spread outside of the area.

It is found through various tests including blood, stool (Cologuard) and visual examination (colonoscopy, sigmoidoscopy), Dartmouth said.

Treatment for colorectal cancer depends on the stage but can include surgery; ablation; embolization; targeted medication; and chemotherapy or radiation.

For more on colorectal cancer, visit the American Cancer Society.

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