James Van Der Beek, 47, gives update on his health after sharing he has stage 3 colorectal cancer

James Van Der Beek revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer in a statement earlier this week.

Now the 47-year-old Dawson's Creek star has shared with People magazine where he is at.

'I'm very cautiously optimistic,' said the pal of Katie Holmes .

'I'm in a place of healing, my energy levels are great,' added the star

'When I've been out of the woods completely for what feels like a responsible amount of time, I'll circle back and let you know,' James said, adding, 'I have a lot to live for.'

The blonde actor said he felt it was important to share his news with the world to raise awareness.

'That's one of the reasons I want to talk about it and the reason I'm talking about it so openly,' James told People.

'I've been dealing with this pretty much in secret for a while, and in the past, I've found it helpful and cathartic to share things publicly.

'And I've found a lot of support that way. But more than that, I really wanted to raise awareness.'

James thought he was healthy when was diagnosed after he had a colonoscopy.

'The trickiest thing is there are so many unknowns with cancer,' he explained.

'You think, "How do I fix this? Is this healing me? Is this hurting me? Is this working? Is it coming back?"

'As someone who likes answers, not knowing is one of the hardest things.'

He felt forced to reveal his cancer diagnosis with the world before he had the chance to tell his loved ones because a tabloid was planning to run the news.

So he rushed out a statement before he had the chance to tell certain people.

He wrote: ''It is cancer...' Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I'm one of them,' he began.

'There's no playbook for how 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,' he added.

'But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news,' the actor continued.

'I've been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before,' he continued.

'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 insisted.

'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,' he added.

'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,' he said.

'Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support. More to come...' he concluded.

The actor is slated to be one of the numerous celebrities to appear on Fox's The Real Full Monty, a two-hour special where celebs will strip to spread awareness for prostate, testicular, and colorectal cancer testing and research.

He will be joined by Taye Diggs, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and Dancing With the Stars judge Bruno Tonioli.

While it's unclear when he was first diagnosed with cancer, it certainly hasn't slowed him down on the work front.

He most recently appeared in an episode of The CW's Walker and he'll next be seen in the Tubi film Sidelined: The QB and Me, debuting November 29.

Those projects were his first since 2021, when he provided the voice for Boris in the Disney animated series Vampirina.

The Van Der Beeks just celebrated Halloween on their 36-acre Texas ranch with their six children - daughter Olivia, 14; son Joshua, 12; daughter Annabel, 10; daughter Emilia, 8; daughter Gwendolyn, 6; and son Jeremiah, 3.

Earlier on Sunday, the Connecticut-born blond confirmed to People: 'I have 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. There's reason for optimism, and I'm feeling good.'

It's unclear what stage of colorectal cancer James has, but it reportedly starts in the colon or the rectum for one in 23 men on average with 65% surviving past five years