James Van Der Beek has colon cancer, PEOPLE can confirm it.

“I have colorectal cancer. I have been dealing with this diagnosis privately and have taken steps to resolve it, with the support of my wonderful family,” the 47-year-old star tells PEOPLE exclusively.

“There is reason for optimism and I feel good,” adds Van Der Beek.

Colorectal cancer begins in the colon or rectum, which are part of the colon in the digestive system, according to the American Cancer Society.

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Despite the diagnosis, Van Der Beek has been actively navigating his care.

He recently appeared in an episode of Hiker and he will play the next leading role Offside: the QB and mea Tubi original film coming out on November 29th.

Van Der Beek has also prioritized time spent with his family: wife Kimberly Van Der Beek and their six children: Olivia, Joshua, Annabel, Emilia, Gwendolyn and Jeremiah.

In June the group made a memorable trip to Egypt. In an Instagram post, the Varsity Blues alum shared photos of himself and his family posing with a camel, looking at the Egyptian pyramids and more.

“#Egypt… With all my vocabulary, ‘Wow’ fell out of my mouth most of the time. We were gifted a magical experience, one that I am still processing – and perhaps for the rest of my life,” Van Der Beek wrote in part in his caption. “The kids were rock stars, my friends became brothers, and despite all the traveling and crossing time zones and early morning alarms, I feel recharged.”

Van Der Beek will perform later in December The real FullMontya two-hour special that will see a group of male celebrities strip naked to raise awareness for prostate, testicular and colorectal cancer testing and research.

In addition to the star, the special also features fellow actor Taye Diggs, Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones and former player Dancing with the stars judge Bruno Tonioli.

The event is inspired by the 1997 Oscar-nominated film The full Montywill be executive produced by Anthony Anderson.

“Embarrassingly, I thought I was just doing Anthony Anderson a favor and supporting cancer. But once we got there and we started really talking about these issues, everyone started to open up and we got to know each other on a different level, Diggs recently told PEOPLE about the special.

The real FullMonty premieres December 9.