James Van Der Beek, best known as the titular character on “Dawson’s Creek,” has died at 48, according to a statement from his family posted on Instagram.
On August 31, 2023, Van Der Beek was diagnosed with colorectal cancer; he did not make his diagnosis public until November 2024. He stated that he had “been privately dealing with this diagnosis and [has] been taking steps to resolve it” with the support of his family.[42]In November 2025, he announced that he would be auctioning items from Dawson’s Creek and Varsity Blues to help cover costs associated with his cancer treatment.[43]
Van Der Beek died on February 11, 2026, at the age of 48.[1][37]
Emphasis mine. Fuck cancer and fuck for-profit healthcare even more. RIP
I think this ought to put it into perspective. This guy at one time was a very successful actor in movies and TV, granted he wasn’t in much recently that I’m aware of. He was still estimated to have a net worth of several million dollars at the time of his death.
If he had to resort to selling his personal items to cover his cancer treatment, what hope do the rest of us have?
I’m currently staying with my well-off aunt and uncle in southern California, because my uncle just had open heart surgery in January. It cost them (and insurance) $460,000 for his surgery.
My aunt was diagnosed with and beat breast cancer a couple years ago. One of her regular treatments that she still needs to go in for every week costs her $6,000.
It doesn’t hurt that her parents were extremely wealthy and owned all kinds of land and property and left almost all of it to her and my uncle, but still.
Probably cheaper to buy a residence permit in the EU via those Golden Visa investment programs some countries have. And just make use of their health care system. Though Van Der Beek could have been on a experimental drug, which wouldn’t be covered in the EU anyway.
cancer treatment are usually not covered, or only partially covered by your healthcare insurance, or whatever you are using. it almost always exceed what the insurance is willing to pay. several million can easily be gone over time. but if you have 10s or 100s of millions or even billions, you are fare much better.
From his Wikipedia:
Emphasis mine. Fuck cancer and fuck for-profit healthcare even more. RIP
I think this ought to put it into perspective. This guy at one time was a very successful actor in movies and TV, granted he wasn’t in much recently that I’m aware of. He was still estimated to have a net worth of several million dollars at the time of his death.
If he had to resort to selling his personal items to cover his cancer treatment, what hope do the rest of us have?
I’m currently staying with my well-off aunt and uncle in southern California, because my uncle just had open heart surgery in January. It cost them (and insurance) $460,000 for his surgery.
My aunt was diagnosed with and beat breast cancer a couple years ago. One of her regular treatments that she still needs to go in for every week costs her $6,000.
It doesn’t hurt that her parents were extremely wealthy and owned all kinds of land and property and left almost all of it to her and my uncle, but still.
Probably cheaper to buy a residence permit in the EU via those Golden Visa investment programs some countries have. And just make use of their health care system. Though Van Der Beek could have been on a experimental drug, which wouldn’t be covered in the EU anyway.
cancer treatment are usually not covered, or only partially covered by your healthcare insurance, or whatever you are using. it almost always exceed what the insurance is willing to pay. several million can easily be gone over time. but if you have 10s or 100s of millions or even billions, you are fare much better.
its very expensive treatment.