James Van Der Beek, 47, underwent a vasectomy before cancer diagnosis

James Van Der Beek revealed that he underwent a vasectomy before learning of his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis. 

The Dawson's Creek alum, 47 - who recently shared the first symptom that led to his 'shock' diagnosis - explained that he had the procedure after welcoming six children with wife Kimberly. 

The couple tied the knot in 2010 and are parents to Olivia, 14, Joshua, 12, Annabel, 10, Emilia, eight, Gwen, six and Jeremiah, three. 

'Well, we love having kids, but we didn't really plan it out,' James said during an interview with People published on Saturday. 'It just happened. We had one planned child.' 

'One! Out of six. One was 100% on purpose. The one thing we really sucked at was not getting pregnant.'

The star continued, 'But thank God, honestly, because it's such a struggle for people, and we really don't take it for granted. I joke, and I laugh, but like, yeah, we really just kind of got lucky that way.' 

The father-of-six then revealed that he had a vasectomy years ago and told the outlet, 'I figured the only way we're going to stop this is if we have some medical intervention.' 

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

At the time of the procedure, he had told his kids, 'Listen, guys, you know Daddy has some surgery on his private parts, so just be really careful when you run up to me not to bump into anything.' 

Van Der Beek then humorously added, 'And my youngest daughter looked me straight in the eye and said, "Daddy, I hope your vagina feels better."' 

'I was like, "Is she taking a shot at me?"' he jokingly said, while his wife Kimberly - who also joined the interview - cut in with, 'Oh, it's a compliment.' 

Back in 2020, James and his family moved to a Texas ranch from Beverly Hills - and the actor gushed about the 'freedom' they have. 

Along with living on a large plot of land, they also own a variety of animals, such as five dogs and 30 chickens. 

Kimberly also opened up about past struggles and expressed, 'We've had five miscarriages. Two of them were late-term, near-death experiences. We've weathered a lot of storms together.' 

She admitted, 'This has been a really difficult year, but there's been this underlying way that we savor life differently. It feels like we understand what real true presence is, what savoring life feels like, finding the beauty in all of it.' 

James then credited both his wife and six children for their support as he battles colorectal cancer. 'There's no way to get through this without her.'

'As much as it sucked this past year, there's not a moment that I ever would have wanted to trade with her watching me go through this. To every caregiver out there, man, God bless you and thank you.' 

The Hollywood star revealed that his kids are 'scared' but added, 'It's natural. But they've been so supportive and loving and tender.' 

James joked, 'One thing I've asked every doctor is, "What are the odds that I can get my kids to stop calling it 'butt cancer?'" The prognosis is never good on that one.' 

Earlier this month, Van Der Beek got candid about his health battle in a statement 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.' 

He later took to Instagram to reveal that he was forced to go public with his cancer diagnosis before telling his family. 

In the post, the star penned to his followers, '"It is cancer…" Each year, approximately 2 billion people around the world receive this diagnosis. And I'm one of them.'

'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.'

James 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.' 

Up until then, he had been 'privately' battling the cancer as well as 'getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before.' 

He positively explained, '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.' 

'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…'

'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. Please know that my family and I deeply appreciate all the love and support,' James concluded. 

After his health struggles came to light, the actor received a flood of supportive messages from his fans.  

In an update, he recently told People that he was 'cautiously optimistic' while adding he is 'in a place of healing, my energy levels are great.' 

'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. I have a lot to live for.' 

In regards to publicly talking about his cancer battle, Van Der Beek explained that he wanted 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.'

'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.'

He also explained to the publication that he initially thought he simply had issues with his diet before being diagnosed with cancer. 

James said that he was good shape and tried to focus on healthy eating, explaining, 'I'd always associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles.' 

'I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee, or maybe not put cream in the coffee. But when I cut that out and it didn’t improve, I thought, "All right, I better get this checked out..."' 

Next month in December, Van Der Beek will appear in the television series, The Real Full Monty, to help bring awareness to colorectal cancer.