James Van Der Beek always tried to look on the bright side during his cancer battle. A few months before the 48-year-old actor died, he sat down for an interview with Today's Craig Melvin to discuss his stage three colorectal cancer diagnosis - and he had a positive update. James shared that he felt "much, much better" than he did prior when he couldn't attend a Dawson's Creek reunion in person due to illness. He continued: "It's been a longer journey than I ever thought it would be. It's required more of me - more patience, more discipline, more strength than I knew I had. I knew I was strong - I didn't know I was this strong. But I feel good." James didn't always feel that way, understandably. Related: Catherine O'Hara's Heartbreaking Cause Of Death Revealed! When the Varsity Blues alum found out he had cancer in 2023, he remembered going "into shock" and part of him "wanted to just freak out." But at the same time, he shockingly thought getting cancer was a good thing for him! He explained: "One of the things I was really lucky about was when I heard the news, I was like, 'This is gonna be the best thing that's ever happened to me.' I had this little voice in my head that said, 'You're gonna make changes in your life that you would never, ever make if you didn't have this extreme of a diagnosis, and it's gonna add healthy, happy years to your life.'" Wow. He really was such a gem of a human being... And he really believed cancer changed his life for the better. He expressed to Melvin that living with cancer these past few years helped him appreciate life more than he ever had before: "I don't think I knew what it was to slow down before. I don't think I knew what it was to really look at everything I eat, everything I put in my body. I think before cancer, I took all these little, beautiful moments as part of a collective. I was just aware of everything. And now I'm able, much more, to just settle into that exact moment. So presence is really the gift that cancer's given me." Little did we all know this would be James' final interview. How heartbreaking. Watch (below): Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know in the comments. [Image via TODAY/YouTube] The post James Van Der Beek Said Cancer Was 'The Best Thing That's Ever Happened' To Him During Final Interview Before His Death -- Here's Why appeared first on Perez Hilton.