Busy Philipps Felt 'Divinely Protected' by James Van Der Beek During Brain Tumor Ordeal
The actress revealed that she felt the presence of her late 'Dawson's Creek' co-star James Van Der Beek while undergoing surgery for a rare brain tumor.
Busy Philipps has shared that she felt a profound sense of spiritual protection from her late "Dawson's Creek" co-star James Van Der Beek during a recent health crisis involving a rare brain tumor. Philipps, 47, told People magazine that she felt "divinely protected" by Van Der Beek throughout her diagnosis and subsequent surgeries.
The actress's ordeal began shortly after Van Der Beek's death on February 11, at age 48, following a battle with colorectal cancer. Philipps underwent a full-body scan just one day after Van Der Beek passed away. She had previously lost her best friend, Kate Cooper Serge, in August 2023.
"I thought so much about James, obviously. And I thought so much of my best friend Kate, who passed away three years ago from cancer. The two of them, I felt, were with me the entire time," Philipps told the outlet. "The fact that I had no symptoms and I had this scan anyway, and the coincidence of it happening the day after James had passed, was too overwhelming not to acknowledge."
The MRI scan revealed Philipps had a Grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a slow-growing brain tumor. She underwent surgery to remove the tumor on March 2. "I felt just honestly very divinely protected by James and Kate," Philipps said.
A second procedure was required in April to address a staph infection that developed near the surgical incision. During this difficult time, Philipps felt Van Der Beek's presence. "When I had to go in for my second surgery, in the waiting room, the man next to me was reading the magazine with James and (wife) Kimberley (Van Der Beek) and the kids on the cover. And I was like, 'Okay, you're here, okay. It's gonna be fine. I'm gonna be fine,'" she recalled.
Philipps also noted a poignant coincidence regarding her casting in the CBS legal drama "Cupertino." She received the offer for the role on the same night Van Der Beek died, which she viewed as a gift.
Earlier this month, Philipps shared encouraging news: her latest tests indicated "no sign" of a brain tumor. "I got my six-month scan MRI and… no sign of tumor," she announced on Instagram on September 8. She did mention a sinus infection, adding, "I'll take a sinus infection over a brain tumor any day."
Van Der Beek had publicly shared his stage 3 colorectal cancer diagnosis in November 2024, though he received the news in August 2023. He and his wife, Kimberly, whom he married in 2010, relocated with their six children from Beverly Hills to a 36-acre property near Austin, Texas, in 2020.