Celebrities who died from bowel cancer shared same warning sign that must not be ignored

Before bowel cancer claimed their lives, two celebrities who considered themselves healthy dismissed the same persistent warning sign as something far less serious.

Bowel cancer, also known as colorectal cancer, is the third most common cancer worldwide, accounting for around 10% of all cancer diagnoses, the World Health Organization (WHO) reports.

In 2022 alone, there were an estimated 1.9 million new cases and more than 900,000 deaths, making it the second leading cause of cancer-related death worldwide.

According to the WHO, colorectal cancer develops in the colon or rectum and can cause symptoms including persistent diarrhea or constipation, blood in the stool, abdominal pain, unexplained weight loss, fatigue and low iron levels.

Despite how common it is, many people don’t realize colorectal cancer can develop quietly before symptoms become impossible to ignore, making persistent or unusual changes worth discussing with a doctor rather than dismissing them.

James Van Der Beek and broadcaster Dame Deborah James each discovered just how easy it can be to overlook those early warning signs.

James Van Der Beek

In November 2024, Van Der Beek, 46 at the time, revealed that he had been diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer.

Before his death on February 11, 2026, the 48-year-old Dawson’s Creek star spoke candidly with People about why he wanted to make his diagnosis public.

“That’s one of the reasons I want to talk about it and the reason I’m talking about it so openly. I really wanted to raise awareness,” he said.

Van Der Beek, who exercised regularly and maintained a healthy diet, explained he mistakenly “associated cancer with age and with unhealthy, sedentary lifestyles.”

“But I was in amazing cardiovascular shape. I tried to eat healthy – or as far as I knew it at the time,” he told the outlet, adding that he started noticing changes in his bowel movements during the summer of 2023.

“I thought maybe I needed to stop coffee,” he said. “Or maybe not put cream in the coffee. But when I cut that out and it didn’t improve, I thought, ‘All right, I better get this checked out.’”

Following a colonoscopy, the doting father of six said he expected reassurance rather than devastating news.

“I felt really good coming out of anesthesia. Then the gastroenterologist said…that it was cancer. I think I went into shock,” the star of Varsity Blues shared.

Deborah James

For Deborah James, the hardest part wasn’t recognizing that something had changed – it was convincing medical professionals that the symptoms deserved a closer look. The former BBC host was told the problem was likely irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), but the symptoms refused to ease and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something more serious was being missed.

“I was still losing weight, passing blood, going what felt like 100 times per day and feeling shattered. I knew there was something wrong with me, a sixth sense if you will, because for the first time I was afraid – very afraid about taking this further,” she told Bowel Cancer UK.

Determined to get answers, James – a vegetarian who lived a healthy lifestyle – paid for a private colonoscopy, which revealed she had an “ugly 5.5cm cancerous, ulcerated tumor.”

James was only 35 when she was diagnosed with stage 3 bowel cancer.

“The worst happened and my fear was realized – I was told I had incurable cancer and that I would die,” she wrote in her posthumously published memoir, “How to Live When You Could Be Dead.”  “I had no choice anymore – I had to look my biggest fear straight in the eye.”

In May 2022, James, 40, shared on Instagram what she called “the message I never wanted to write” as she revealed her treatment options had run out.

“We have tried everything, but my body simply isn’t playing ball…Even with all the innovative cancer drugs in the world or some magic new breakthrough, my body just can’t continue anymore.

“In over 5 years of writing…I never envisaged writing the one where I would actually say goodbye,” she said in her farewell post, only one month before she died.

Although their journeys have ended, both shared a remarkably similar experience before their diagnoses: changes in their bowel habits that they initially believed had a far less serious explanation.

The American Cancer Society recommends that adults at average risk start regular colorectal cancer screening at age 45, using either stool-based tests or a colonoscopy. It also advises anyone experiencing symptoms such as persistent changes in bowel habits, rectal bleeding, dark stools, unexplained weight loss, ongoing abdominal cramping or unusual fatigue to speak with a doctor rather than assuming the symptoms will go away on their own.

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