United Kingdom, Sept. 17 -- Mary-Margaret Humes secretly battled colon cancer in 2007.

The 71-year-old actress has enjoyed a number of "uplifting and spiritual" conversations with James Van Der Beek, who played her on-screen son in Dawson's Creek, since he was diagnosed with stage 3 colorectal cancer last year, and admitted his health issues resonated with her because of her own private struggle.

She told Us Weekly of her own diagnosis: "It was just about ready to break out of the wall. It could've been a terrible situation, but we caught it in time. My doctor said we dodged a bullet, and it was all because of early detection. Cancers are survivable, but go out and get screened - thankfully, that's part of James' journey."

The actress ...