James Van Der Beek Shares One Thing He Learned from His Cancer Diagnosis That He Now Instills in His 6 Children

James Van Der Beek's cancer diagnosis taught him an important lesson that he now makes sure to instill into his children.

When speaking on the latest episode of the Whine Down with Jana Kramer podcast, the Dawson's Creek star, 48, opened up about what going through cancer treatments taught him and what they revealed to him about fatherhood and self-love. Van Der Beek shared that his recent health issues made it seem like all of his titles — father, husband and provider, which he built his self-worth on — to be "all of a sudden not true."

"I couldn't be a father. I couldn't be a husband. I couldn't be a provider. I couldn't be any of these things that I had used as my identity," he shared. "The conclusion that I came to was that even without all that, I'm still worthy of love simply because I exist."

Now, he wants to make sure his kids know that they are "worthy of love," regardless of what they can offer someone.

"They're worthy of love just for being them," he said. "One of my kids asked me one night, when she was about 6, she said, 'Daddy, do you love me because I'm your daughter or for what I do?' And I was like, 'Oh, man. I better stick the landing on this one. This is like a big question.'"

"So I got a little nervous, and I was like, 'Well, I love you because you're my daughter, but I also love the things that you do.' And, she got kind of upset. She's like, 'But I do bad things. I sneak candy. I sneak sugar all the time,' " he continued. "It's like this confessional, and I was talking to a friend of mine afterward, and he was like, 'You got the answer half right.'"

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"He said, 'The real question she was asking you is how unconditional is your love for me? How unconditionally do you love me?' " Van Der Beek explained. "And so I offer that up just for any parent out there who might be watching who gets a similar question."

The proud dad also shared his children's reaction to his appearance on the Masked Singer. While he was nervous about joining the show, Van Der Beek, who has taken a completely honest parenting approach, said he openly shared his fears with his children.

"They were very excited. I was nervous about it because I hadn't sung in public in a very long time," he said. "So, I shared with them how nervous I was. I shared with them my my fears. Am I gonna lose my voice? Am I gonna sing well enough?"

"I wanted them to watch me try something that, I was a little bit nervous about trying," he continued. "So, it was really cool to see their reaction to it. And, my 13-year-old son, who's very honest all the time, being like, 'You were better than I thought you would be.' That's like wow, thank you dude. Appreciate that."

The One Tree Hill actor, who was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in November 2024, shares six children with his wife Kimberly. The couple, who met in July 2009 in Israel and quietly married in August 2010, welcomed their first child, daughter Olivia in September 2010. Throughout their almost 15-year marriage, the duo have welcomed five other children: daughters Annabel, Emilia and Gwendolyn, and sons Joshua and Jeremiah.

"I think fatherhood changes you from the inside out," the actor told PEOPLE in 2013, adding that it comes with a lack of free time, but that it's a trade-off he's happy to make for family.

In October 2019, when Van Der Beek and his wife announced they were expecting their sixth child, the father of six opened up to PEOPLE about how grateful he was to expand his family once again.

"We have watched our lives change with each kid," Van Der Beek shared. "We've watched opportunities grow, and we've seen the positive effect it's had on our other kids. And the added love brought into the house lights everybody up in a way that is kind of undeniable."