In an interview with People published on Sunday, the "Dawson's Creek" actor said that he has been privately dealing with the diagnosis and "taking steps to resolve it" with the support of his family.
"There's reason for optimism, and I'm feeling good," Van Der Beek, 47, added.
While the actor did not give details about the prognosis of his cancer, he took to Instagram later that day to apologize to people in his life who had to learn about his news online.
"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 wrote. "But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news."
Van Der Beek, a father of six, added that he had been dealing with the cancer privately and getting the necessary treatment. "It's been quite the initiation, and I'll tell you more when I'm ready," he said, adding that nothing about sharing the news had occurred on his "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."
A representative for Van Der Beek didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.
Van Der Beek's announcement comes as more young people are being diagnosed with colorectal cancer, a 2023 report by the American Cancer Society found.
Colorectal cancer develops from growths called polyps in the inner lining of the colon or rectum. It can also be called colon cancer or rectal cancer, depending on where the growth occurs, ACS said.
While experts are unsure about the exact cause behind the rise in cases, Dr. Michael Shusterman, a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at NYU Langone's Perlmutter Cancer Center, told BI that making certain lifestyle changes can reduce the risk of developing colorectal cancer.
He suggested that people eat less red meat, as there is an association between colon cancer and a high red meat diet. Instead, eating more tree nuts and vitamin D may be beneficial.
Colorectal cancer is also the leading cause of death due to cancer in men under 50. However, when caught early, the survival rate is about 90%, ACS said.
Some symptoms to look out for include abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, diarrhea, and iron deficiency.
JJ Singleton was 27 when he noticed a throbbing pain in his abdomen. He thought it was a pulled muscle, but it turned out to be stage 2 colon cancer.
"It's important to get people educated about colon cancer even though they don't like talking about their bowel movements," he previously told BI.
Similarly, Josh Herting noticed clotted blood in his stool when he was 34. After following his doctor's recommendation to get a colonoscopy, he learned he had stage 3 colon cancer.
Herting, now 44, is cancer-free. But he continues to raise awareness to encourage people to go for checks if something is amiss.