James Van Der Beek sells ‘Varsity Blues’ merch to fund cancer treatment costs for himself and others
James Van Der Beek is raising funds to help offset the significant costs of his cancer treatment and support other patients in need.
Van Der Beek, who recently announced he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, shared on social media that in celebration of his 1999 film Varsity Blues, he is selling a limited-edition merch personally signed by him.
“Merch drop! Excited to celebrate the 25th anniversary of #VarsityBlues with a limited edition #4 Moxon jersey—each one personally autographed by me. Grab yours now at the link in my bio or head over to JVDB.Shop,” he wrote, sharing a slideshow of himself wearing a jersey with the name "Jonathan 'Mox' Moxon" printed on the back.
He added that the proceeds will benefit cancer patients, including himself.
“100% of my net proceeds will go to families recovering from the financial burden of cancer (including my own),” the 47-year-old actor added.
Earlier in November, Van Der Beek told People that he is battling stage 3 colorectal cancer.
“The trickiest thing is there are so many unknowns with cancer,” he said. “You think, ‘How do I fix this? Is this healing me? Is this hurting me? Is this working? Is it coming back?’ As someone who likes answers, not knowing is one of the hardest things.”
The Dawson's Creek star noticed changes in his bowel habits and underwent a colonoscopy.
“I felt really good coming out of anesthesia, that I’d finally done it. Then the gastroenterologist said — in his most pleasant bedside manner — that it was cancer. I think I went into shock,” he shared.
On Instagram, Van Der Beek penned a lengthy message about how he was supposed to announce his diagnosis.
"There's no playbook for how [to] 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. But that plan had to be altered early this morning when I was informed that a tabloid was going to run with the news," he said.
"I've been dealing with this privately until now, getting treatment and dialing in my overall health with greater focus than ever before. I'm in a good place and feeling strong," the actor added.
He continued to say that he would share more about the experience when he was ready.
He also apologized to people in his life he wanted to tell the news personally.
Van Der Beek is known for his roles in Dawson's Creek, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, CSI: Cyber, Pose, Varsity Blues, Texas Rangers, Labor Day, Bad Hair, and more.
