James Van Der Beek opens up about tough talk with kids amid cancer battle

James Van Der Beek tugged at some heartstrings as he dished on speaking to his kids about his cancer.

In a recent chat on Today, on July 30, the 48-year-old actor, who is battling with stage 3 colorectal cancer for the last eight months, opened up about the hard talk he had with his kids about his health scare.

“I’m far from an expert, but our approach was just to be as honest as possible, as honest to the degree of their understanding, right? Because they know," James said on the third hour of the show.

The Dawson Creek star noted that his children "can sense that Dad’s having a tough day."

"They know if Dad’s in pain. They know, and so by not telling them, I think you’re confusing them even more," James continued.

Taking the moment to advise other parents, he encouraged them to let their children know if they are going through the same situations.

"When you tell them what you’re doing, and you tell them the approach, they can see it and they can feel it, and I think it’s also your journey is their journey," he urged.

"I have kids making me tea. 'Dad, what do you need?' There's been a lot of beauty that's come out of it, but I would love to save everybody this journey, which is why I'm saying get screened," James added of his six chlidren including, Olivia, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn, Joshua, and Jeremiah, whom he shares with wife Kimberly Van Der Beek.