James van der Beek revealed his first warning sign Colon cancer – And that was something I wasn’t wary at the time.
The 48-year-old Dawson Creek actor, who announced his diagnosis of colorectal cancer in November 2024, recently told Healthline that “no red flags or anything dazzling.”
“I was healthy. I was on the cold bold,” he said. “I had an incredible cardiovascular shape and had stage 3 cancer, but I didn’t know.”
Colon cancer diagnosis is soaring among young adults for one important reason
One symptom he experienced was a change in bowel movement, and the actor chalked the effects of his coffee consumption.
“I didn’t know much before the diagnosis Colorectal cancersaid Van der Beek. [had] I fell to 45. I thought I was still 50. ”
He eventually underwent colonoscopy, revealing that the actor has stage 3 colon cancer.
Professor Eitan Friedman, MD, PhD, oncologist and founder of the Suzanne Levy Gertnerma Genetics Unit at Shiva Medical Center, Israel, confirmed that changes in bowel habits are the main red flags that should raise suspicions of Conretal cancer.
Others include fatigue as a result of anemia, blood in the stool, Weight lossloss of appetite and abdominal discomfort, Friedman, who has not treated van der Beek, told Fox News Digital.
Dr. Erica Burnell, a physician scientist at the University of Washington School of Medicine, and the doctoral degree, co-founder and chief medical officer of Geneoscopy, said Van Der Beek’s experience of lack of “glare” signs is common.
“Many colorectal cancers develop quietly without obvious symptoms,” Burnell, who also had no treatment for the actor, told Fox News Digital. “By the time the symptoms appear, the disease may already be progressing.”
Symptoms are “particularly worrying” for people over the age of 45 who have colon cancer or at least one first-degree relative. Other GI malignant tumorsand added Friedman, who is also an advisory board member for Spotietearly, a startup that offers home respiratory tests to detect early stage cancer signals, for those with active inflammatory bowel disease, such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease.
According to Friedman, there is a 4% to 5% chance that an average at-risk person will have colorectal cancer throughout their lifetime.
“Colonoscopy after age 45 at intervals of five to ten years has been shown to lead to early detection of polyps that can become malignant and allow for removal as an effective means of minimizing the risk of malignant conversion,” he said.
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Unfortunately, Burnell said “US screening compliance is below national targets and the gap is the widest in rural, low-income and minority communities.”
To close those gaps, she sought greater access to being “accurate and non-invasive.” Screening Techniques“With an effort to raise public awareness.
“Most people don’t like to talk about gut habits, but paying attention to changes can save your life,” Burnell said. “Screening often gives you the opportunity to find problems early before you feel sick. It can make all the difference.”
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Fox News Digital has requested comment from Van Der Beek.
