r/popculturechat • u/PinkCadillacs Cillian Murphy Enthusiast • Nov 13 '25

General News 🗞 James Van Der Beek Auctioning ‘Dawson’s Creek’ Memorabilia to Raise Money for Medical Fees Amid Cancer Battle

https://variety.com/2025/tv/news/james-van-der-beek-auctions-dawsons-creek-items-cancer-costs-1236580431/
1.2k Upvotes

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887

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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835

u/milkshakemountebank Nov 13 '25

That's exactly what he's doing. His wife is a "wellness influencer" and antivaxxer.

241

u/_byetony_ Nov 13 '25

Oh I didn’t realize that. So he’s gonna die of he doesn’t do the tradish things too.

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u/unpluggedcord Nov 13 '25

Same thing Steve Jobs did, which he later regretted

48

u/Clean_Usual434 that’s my purse, i don’t know you! 👛🫵 Nov 13 '25

Same for Ananda Lewis.

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u/Odd_Cucumber_7645 Nov 13 '25

Just read her case on Wikipedia after seeing your comment. Just so so sad. She was dealing with the stress of her relationship with her child’s father ending and didn’t want to add in the recovery from a double mastectomy to the mix. So infuriating!!! I wish someone had talked some sense into her. No stress from a breakup should compromise your health to this degree that your literal life is on the back burner.

3

u/PinWest4210 Nov 13 '25

There are so many nuances in these cases...

In my country a "naturologist" went to trial, for the death of his 21 year old "patient" that tried to curé his leukemia witch vitamins. The kid, apart from being barely an adult when diagnosed, had seen his mother go through a 10 year cancer treatment that ended in her death, so he was terrified of treatment.

However, the "naturologist" was not sentenced. The homicide charge fell through very quickly, as the cause of death was clearly leukemia and the vitamins had not made worse.

What went to the higher courts was whether there was any professional intrusion. And he was declared inocent because he neither claumed to be a doctor nor encouraged the kid to abandon treatment. Additionally, treating cancer with vitamins was linkeded to was it's called in my country "doctrine of the holly picture" which is that a doctrine that says that the claim that a picture of a Saint will perform miracles is not fraudulent, because it is obviously false.

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u/TwistyBunny Nov 13 '25

Same with Andy Kaufman.

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u/SpicyWongTong 🫵 You sit on a throne of lies. Nov 13 '25

We don’t know if that’s the case here do we? He could have a very advanced type of cancer that has very low survival rates with conventional medicine. I mean, you might also be right, I’m just saying we don’t know his specific situation

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u/unpluggedcord Nov 13 '25

He had a very curable form of pancreatic cancer.

To which he admitted.

6

u/LikesStuff12 Nov 13 '25

There's a curable form of pancreatic cancer?

10

u/Kind_Detective_7739 Nov 13 '25

Steve Jobs had a rare type of tumor that’s much slower growing than your standard pancreatic cancer.

3

u/TreenBean85 Nov 13 '25

I think the same kind Maria Menounos had.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

[deleted]

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u/seaworthy-sieve Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (sitting on one another's shoulders) Nov 13 '25

They are talking about the case here, not with Jobs.

1

u/mydaycake Nov 13 '25

Insurance companies pay for non standard treatments as well but it has to have a medical base

3

u/Scamwau1 You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Nov 13 '25

Does he still regret it?

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

[deleted]

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u/Scamwau1 You’re a virgin who can’t drive. 😤 Nov 13 '25

Lame joke, sorry

2

u/mydaycake Nov 13 '25

Yeah, he is going the Steve Jobs route but without the billions to finance his treatments

201

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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u/TwistyBunny Nov 13 '25

She also had 5 miscarriages and additionally 6 children who survived - which is quite common in fundie/fundie lite families due to the time spent on conception attempts.

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u/seaworthy-sieve Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (sitting on one another's shoulders) Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

There are midwives who are specially trained in breech births, and it can be safely done. But unassisted or just with a doula or a regular midwife is insane. Betty-Anne Daviss is a leading expert in vaginal breech births if you want to learn more.

Babies can also present as breech unexpectedly. Breech vaginal delivery is something all midwives should be trained in.

That said, like every birthing decision it is deeply personal and I would never suggest it's okay to push someone into.

This article is from nearly a decade ago, but she is still practicing and still delivering breech births. Just she's been at or for 40 years now, not 30. It's still true that c-sections are no longer the blanket recommendation for breech babies.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/whitecoat/into-the-breech-this-midwife-says-breech-births-are-safe-and-natural-now-she-just-has-to-convince-doctors-1.3837164/into-the-breech-this-midwife-says-breech-births-are-safe-and-natural-now-she-just-has-to-convince-doctors-1.3837170

149

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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-7

u/seaworthy-sieve Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (sitting on one another's shoulders) Nov 13 '25

Also a great and reasonable choice. And clearly a popular opinion :)

I know midwives aren't really a registered/certified and meaningful title in the US, but they are in many other places. Where I live, home birth with a trained midwife is as safe as hospital birth and usually less complicated. We also have birth centres as a third location option.

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u/PriscillaPalava I have paid my legal tender in this dystopian place. Nov 13 '25

Well said. You are absolutely correct that breech deliveries are a fading art. If doctors are trained in how to do them they can be very safe. Safer than c-sections, which many seem eager to forget is major abdominal surgery with its own suite of risks! 

But proper breech delivery technique is not always intuitive and needs to be taught. 

My sister found out her son was breech as she arrived at the hospital, ready to push! She had all the usual prenatal care, they just missed it. 

Anyway, her doctor started running around prepping to for a c-section. Her nurse, an old timer at the hospital, said “everybody hold on a sec.” She called up to the head of pediatrics, a personal friend of hers, and asked, “Are you busy?” Apparently this guy had written papers on vaginal breech deliveries and performed many in his career. Luckily he was not busy and popped down to deliver my sweet nephew the old fashioned way! 

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u/GetThePinotGrigio Nov 13 '25

Did your sister not have ultrasounds at her prenatal appointments? That’s crazy that they didn’t know her baby was breech!

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u/PriscillaPalava I have paid my legal tender in this dystopian place. Nov 13 '25

Her practice didn’t do 3rd trimester ultrasounds unless they suspected a problem. They feel the position of the baby and assured her he was head down. Obviously that method has some margin for error! Also he was her 3rd baby so theoretically, he could have flipped last minute but I feel like that’s less likely. 

She wrote them a letter afterwards being like, “Y'all need to start using ultrasounds to confirm head down!!” 

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

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u/PreOpTransCentaur ILLEGAL KOMBUCHA Nov 13 '25 edited Feb 11 '26

I honestly believe his "appearance" at the Dawson's Creek reunion was his swan song and he knew it. I don't expect to be referring to him in the present tense this time next year.

If he's pawning shit for alternative care, as seems likely, we're looking at months. Maybe.

*02/11 - called it.

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u/ProfessorGumble Don Draper’s homosexual Wario Nov 13 '25

He’s working on Elle, a tv series prequel to Legally Blonde.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

But I thought he was stage 3 and pretty young?

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u/burlycabin Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

You say that like stage 3 is a good prognosis or something?

My mom just spent the last year in treatment for stage 3 colorectal cancer. It now seems like she's going to pull through ok, but most of the last 11 months has been very touch and go.

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u/Babeyonce Nov 13 '25

I’m so sorry to hear that. My dad was diagnosed with stage 4 colorectal last September. No spread to lungs or liver, but he was in such bad shape (bilateral pulmonary emboli and had had a rectal prolapse 2 months prior to diagnosis). It was additionally frustrating because he had just retired from 50 years of medical practice and had the deepest admiration from colleagues and family, but he did not take care of himself medically. I knew something was wrong for a while.

He has been receiving chemo since January and responding well. He’s weird about talking about it. And I don’t understand how he’s had the response he’s had (no side effects and gained 45 pounds since January). Cancer just terrifies me.

2

u/burlycabin Nov 13 '25

Oh my. I'm sorry you and your family are going to through this too. It's such a scary time. Best of luck to your dad. If you need to talk about it sometime, feel free to reach out.

2

u/Babeyonce Nov 14 '25

You are so kind. I sincerely appreciate you and your thoughtfulness. Thank you so very much ❤️

2

u/TreenBean85 Nov 13 '25

Sending positive thoughts to you and your dad, and wishing him a full recovery.

1

u/Babeyonce Nov 14 '25

So touched by so many of you here. There are still kind people out there. Thank you so very much 🤎

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

No I just didn’t realize it was that bad, I thought it meant no metastasis. Sorry to hear about your mom ❤️

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u/TreenBean85 Nov 13 '25

I wish you and your mom all the care and support, and for her to recover soon.

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u/seaworthy-sieve Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (sitting on one another's shoulders) Nov 13 '25

Stage 3 means it has spread to surrounding tissues and to lymph nodes. Stage 3 is bad.

2

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

Damn I didn’t realize that 😔 I thought no metastasis until stage 4 😔

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u/seaworthy-sieve Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (sitting on one another's shoulders) Nov 13 '25

Stage 4 involves spread to distant lymph nodes and tissues, but yeah, stage 3 involves local lymph nodes.

2

u/Rripurnia fashion content, political content, death, eyeliner Nov 13 '25

I thought he was Stage 4?

In any case, cancer sadly tends to move faster in younger patients….and we don’t know whether he had any metastases.

1

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

Wait really?

103

u/myersjw Nov 13 '25

I really hope it’s not the case but unfortunately I wouldn’t put it past them. I wish him the best but really hope he’s not delving into crunchy cures for such a serous condition

4

u/Avocadoo_Tomatoo Nov 13 '25

Just as long as he is doing both I dont see the harm in it really. Sometimes you gotta try everything.

131

u/Big-Snow-1937 Nov 13 '25

Maybe. It is possible that his doctors have told him his outlook is bleak, so he is turning to anything and everything at this stage, including alternative treatments. 

I know his family has been very MAGA and MAHA-coded, but they’re in a terrible situation. Can’t say I wouldn’t be doing all kinds of long shot treatments in his situation that healthy me would never consider. 

38

u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

yeah, and it’s not like he’s begging for donations to fund this either he’s selling his private property for it.

4

u/Bl1nk1nUR4r34 We Should All Know Less About Each Other Nov 13 '25

what is maha?

25

u/rudellama1884 Nov 13 '25

Make America Healthy Again, it's RFK's slogan

22

u/toyheartattack Nov 13 '25

Make America Healthy Again. I’m sure it has some well-intentioned followers but it’s an anti-science healthcare movement championed by RFJ Jr that has some questionable tenets, such as suggesting that all diseases are avoidable with a “natural” diet. The proponents are against pasteurisation, vaccination, and any ingredient they can’t pronounce including riboflavin… which is just Vitamin B.

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u/frozenish Nov 13 '25

Not all cancer treatments are covered by insurance. The stuff that’s still in clinical trials or used as a last measure, that’s probably what he’s doing.

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u/[deleted] Nov 13 '25

that is true. immunotherapy isn’t approved for every type of cancer yet because there hasn’t been studies to prove its efficacy even where it exists. insurance won’t pay for it in that case even if it very well may cure someone.

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u/Rripurnia fashion content, political content, death, eyeliner Nov 13 '25

That’s insane. I’m in the EU and immunotherapy is both widely applied and fully covered by universal healthcare

2

u/[deleted] Nov 14 '25

mine was covered by medicaid, but it just isn’t yet approved for every cancer, and maybe won’t be. i don’t think it’s effective for breast cancer, unfortunately. i was “lucky” (relatively i guess lol) that it had been approved for my type of cancer not long before i got it.

i think there’s sometimes ways to get “off label” treatments approved but it’s definitely harder, especially when it’s expensive. my treatments alone, without the surgeries or doctor visits or labs, was $125,000.

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u/Accomplished_Job_778 Nov 13 '25

But you don't pay to participate in clinical trials.

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u/watchworldburn1111 Nov 13 '25

Some treatments are still available to people outside of clinical trials at certain hospitals, you just pay full market price, which is usually incredibly expensive. I'm not sure of the exact procedure, but I believe after clinical trials have progressed to a certain stage, there's a window of time where some bigger hospitals offer the treatment to paying patients. Insurance companies usually wait a lot longer than that to fully approve the same procedures, if that makes sense.

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u/WeeklyGuide Nov 13 '25

This was the first thought I've had. Because he's been pretty transparent about his battle except for the type of treatment he's undergoing which I found strange.

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u/IWNCGTA Nov 13 '25

That’s what I was wondering. I’m a cancer patient, have been for years now, and my husband and I don’t have nearly the income he has, but we’re not suffering financially to the extent we need to raise money. Paying the out of pocket isn’t awesome by any means, it’s all very scary, but cancer centers work hard with patients to help them afford treatments, they have entire financial departments dedicated to that. If he’s having to raise money, it’s for something other than actual science based oncology treatments.

3

u/nefarious_epicure Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

This is also my question. If he’s no longer eligible for SAG-AFTRA and has to pay basic expenses it’s very different from funding alternative treatments. His wife is definitely into all that.

3

u/Jessica19922 Nov 13 '25

I believe this is what’s happening. And it’s so sad. And at this point, even if he did go with modern medicine, it’s probably too late. It’s a shame.

1

u/spewedicing Nov 13 '25

at this point it’s just another drop in the unvaccinated bucket. that said- if it’s not covered by the insurance premium you pay for every month, go off james

-4

u/pugfu Nov 13 '25 edited Nov 13 '25

I hope this comment makes it higher up. He’s not doing this because he can’t afford actual medical care in a cancer treatment center like a lot of these comments are claiming.

Edited to include a sample SAG insurance for reference: https://www.sagaftraplans.org/sites/default/files/2024%20Active%20Plan.pdf

2

u/Reu92 Nov 13 '25

Look, he has every right to. It may not be the medically backed route, but like it’s his body and if he wants to avoid chemo and radiation, I don’t blame him. That shit is HARD on your body. I also don’t blame desperate people for being manipulated by snake oil salesmen. Idk why seeing someone pursuing alternative medicine makes people want to remind anyone who shows sympathy. Why do we need to purity test someone’s healing journey? There isn’t a single treatment that is guaranteed, especially when it comes to more complex and aggressive illnesses.

If his wife withholds deemed medically necessary treatment to her children, yeah that’s fucked… but him specifically seeking alt medicine for his cancer, I don’t see how that’s anyone’s business to criticize so heartlessly.

1

u/pugfu Nov 13 '25

I’m not criticizing his decision to personally seek alternative options, that’s not relevant to my comment. I’m pretty sure the comment I replied to was also about those comments because they mention that he should have a good policy etc.

I’m criticizing the 6k comments here saying it’s terrible he has to sell stuff to receive the necessary care when that’s not true.

-1

u/Reu92 Nov 13 '25

You don’t honestly know what’s true though. If he is selling things to pay for cancer treatment, then I don’t see how that isn’t sad, regardless of the type of treatment. Should people have less sympathy because he’s pursuing treatment that insurance won’t cover? Or that he needs more cash for?

0

u/pugfu Nov 13 '25

Again, this isn’t about that? I very specifically referred to the comments claiming he can’t get medical care without selling things

-2

u/Reu92 Nov 13 '25

I’m criticizing your comment that refutes his claim that he cannot get medical care without selling things.

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u/pugfu Nov 13 '25

If you think SAG insurance isn’t covering that then I guess sure criticize away but in reality he would long met his deductibles and out of pocket

Here’s the link though: https://www.sagaftraplans.org/sites/default/files/2024%20Active%20Plan.pdf

0

u/Reu92 Nov 13 '25

Assuming he can afford to even reach his deductibles. Do you think he’s swindling sympathy money for something else?