In early November, the married father of six revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer. Photo: TNS
Dawson’s Creek star James Van Der Beek is selling movie-themed merchandise to help finance his and others’ cancer treatment.
The 47-year-old actor, who revealed his colorectal cancer diagnosis last month, took to social media to unveil his crowd-funding initiative.
He shared images wearing a Varsity Blues jersey while holding a football on his official Instagram account.
“100% of my net proceeds will go to families recovering from the financial burden of cancer (including my own – (smile emoji)),” he wrote in the caption.
The limited-edition jerseys bear the number 4, worn by Jonathon “Mox” Moxon, the Texas high school quarterback Van Der Beek portrayed in the 1999 sports movie. Autographed jerseys are US$80 (RM355.80) and unsigned jerseys are priced at US$40 (RM177.90) on his official website.
“Order one and get a signed one in time for Christmas,” the Pose actor encouraged his 1.6 million followers with the hashtag “#cancerisexpensive.”
But his fundraising goals aren’t limited to social media.
Van Der Beek is among several male celebrities featured in The Real Full Monty, a new take on the Oscar nominated 1997 British comedy The Full Monty, in which a group of unemployed men in England do a Chippendales-style striptease to score extra cash.
He joins fellow actors Anthony Anderson, Tyler Posey and Taye Diggs, Dancing With The Stars judge Bruno Tonioli and Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones to raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research.
In early November, the married father of six revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.
“I’ve been privately dealing with this diagnosis and have been taking steps to resolve it, with the support of my incredible family, ” Van Der Beek told People magazine.
He went on to detail how differences in his bowel movements led him to consider diet changes to cure potential issues. After not noticing a change, he scheduled a colonoscopy and later “went into shock” when his gastroenterologist gave him the results. – New York Daily News/Tribune News Service
