Rest in peace, James Van Der Beek. 48 years old. Six children. Stage 3 colorectal cancer.
This is the part that keeps me up at night. An unfortunate trend we're seeing in our clinics in the last few years is that cancer is increasingly hitting younger people. Yet, we're still not asking why. We're still catching it too late and treating it with the same playbook.
We're not asking what's changed in our environment, our food, our immune systems that's allowing this to happen to people in the prime of their lives.
A father shouldn't have to sell memorabilia to pay for cancer treatment. A family shouldn't lose their dad at 48.
We have to do better.
Jamesā six kids are now without their father.
In the last two years, he had to sell his Dawsonās Creek memorabilia to help pay for his cancer treatment.
His castmates had to put on a show to help cover his medical expenses.
There was absolutely no reason Sony Pictures (which owns Dawsonās Creek) couldnāt have quietly paid for his treatment, considering how much the show has made for them over the years, long after it ended.
Now his wife, Kimberly, is a widow with six children.
I realize she may be better off than some, but itās still a pretty awful situation given how much money the show generated.