James Van Der Beek said he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer.

The “Dawson’s Creek” star posted a statement regarding his health on Instagram on Sunday after revealing the news to People.

“‘It’s cancer…’ Each year, approximately 2 billion people worldwide are diagnosed with this,” he writes. “And I’m one of them.”

He then explained his decision to share the news this weekend.

“There’s no guide on how to announce these things, but I was planning to talk at length about this with People magazine soon…to raise awareness and tell my story on my own terms,” he continued. “But that plan had to be changed early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to publish the news.”

Van Der Beek wrote that he “has dealt with this privately until now, undergoing treatment and looking after my overall health with more attention than ever before.”

Despite the update on his health, he shared that he was hopeful for the future and apologized to those in his life who heard the news through the press.

“I am in a good place and feeling strong,” he wrote. “It’s been quite an initiation, and I’ll tell you more when I’m ready. My apologies to everyone in my life who I was planning to tell. Nothing in this process happened on my favorite timeline… But we roll with it, taking each surprise as a signpost, heading toward a greater destiny than we would have discovered without divine intervention.”

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

In the post, he also shared a video montage of photos of himself, as well as an image with one of his children, set to the song “Autumn Breeze” by Richard LaForge.

ABC News has contacted its representative for comment.

Colorectal cancer begins in the colon or rectum, often called colon or rectal cancer depending on its location, according to the American Cancer Society, which adds that most cases begin as polyps — growths on the inner lining of the these organs – which enlarge. common with age. For this reason, regular colonoscopy screenings can not only help detect colorectal cancer, but also prevent it, since it can take up to 10 to 15 years for a polyp to turn into cancer.

In addition to being an actor, Van Der Beek is a true family man. He is the father of six children, whom he shares with his wife, Kimberly.

The actor regularly shares updates about his family on his social media platform.

In an Instagram post last week, Van Der Beek is pictured wearing a pirate costume while sharing his favorite moment during his Halloween celebration with his family.

“Growing up I made all my own costumes,” he wrote in the caption. “I didn’t really have a choice. But I loved it. That probably should have been the first warning sign to my parents that I was going to be an actor.”

He continued: “But in a SPIRIT HALLOWEEN world… my six-year-old daughter was devastated that her angel costume didn’t arrive in time for the party. After acknowledging her tears, she was given the project to making her own halo, which she worked on for HOURS – wrapping yellow yarn around a garden wire in a way that one would have thought impossible And the look of pride on her face as she did so. seeing the final project in the mirror was, for me… my favorite moment of Halloween.”

Earlier this year, Van Der Beek shared his proud moment as a father when his daughter Olivia sang Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” on the TV show “We Are Family,” which features relatives not famous celebrities performing duets with their hidden famous family members.

“I’m a very proud dad tonight. My oldest daughter was on ‘We Are Family’ on Fox tonight,” he said in an Instagram video at the time before sharing behind-the-scenes clips, which included sweet moments with Olivia in her very first on-set trailer, her rehearsal with the producers, and Van Der Beek singing with his daughter as he watched the feed from behind the scenes.

“So proud of my little girl,” he wrote in the caption. “And I call her that because when I looked at her tonight, all I could see was the newborn in the crib that I couldn’t stop looking at in awe.”

Despite the diagnosis, Van Der Beek remains active in his career, recently appearing in an episode of “Walker” and soon in “Sidelines: The QB and Me,” a Tubi original film premiering November 29.