James Van Der Beek’s widow, Kimberly Van Der Beek, is sharing a message of support after his former Dawson’s Creek costar Busy Philipps shared her brain tumor diagnosis.
“We love you @busyphilipps and you got angels in heaven. ❤️,” Kimberly, 44, commented on People’s Wednesday, August 26, Instagram post from the outlet’s interview with Philipps, 47.
Earlier on Wednesday, Philipps shared that a Prenuvo full-body scan in February confirmed the presence of a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare slow-growing tumor. She admittedly had considered canceling the scan because it was scheduled one day after James died from stage III colorectal cancer. He was 48.
“‘Should I cancel it?’” Philipps recalled to People of asking her ex-husband, Marc Silverstein, who replied at the time, “Maybe it’s the best thing you could do for your friend this morning. Go get that scan.”
After Prenuvo confirmed the presence of a tumor, Philipps said she was “hyperventilating” while “trying to breathe.” The following month, she underwent the procedure, and doctors removed a 2.6-centimeter mass from her brain.
“It is considered malignant, but it has the best prognosis of all of the malignant gliomas,” Philipps’ neuro-oncologist, Dr. Alexandra Miller, told People. “It’s sort of defined as a cancerous tumor based on the ability of the tumor to regrow over time, rather than it looking very malignant under the microscope.”
Philipps shared that she “wasn’t in pain at all” but contracted staphylococcus on her incision one month later. She ultimately needed a follow-up surgery to debride and clear the wound and will continue to receive regular scans.
“What am I? The luckiest girl in the world?” she quipped.
In June, Philipps reflected on losing James and shared that his death served as a reminder to “take care” of her health.
“See doctors, get checkups, like, make sure that you’re taking care of your body and your health, and if something feels off, go get it checked out,” Philipps said in an exclusive interview with Us.
Philipps shared at the time that there is a “huge” shift in perspective after losing a friend in life.
“And [it] really sort of instills in you that every day is all you have,” she said, explaining that loss and grief have led her to realize that “you need to live your life with that understanding and move through the world in a way that reflects that you get that. So I do try to do that.”
