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Following actor James Van Der Beek’s death after a 2½-year battle with colon cancer, experts are warning of the disease’s prevalence among younger people.

The “Dawson’s Creek” star announced his stage 3 colon cancer diagnosis in November 2024, although he was officially diagnosed in August 2023 after a colonoscopy.

In an August 2025 feature with Healthline, Van Der Beek revealed the first warning sign of colon cancer was a change in bowel movements, which he chalked up to an effect of drinking coffee.

JAMES VAN DER BEEK, ‘DAWSON’S CREEK’ AND ‘VARSITY BLUES’ STAR, DEAD AT 48

“Before my diagnosis, I didn’t know much about colorectal cancer,” the actor said. “I didn’t even realize the screening age [had] dropped to 45; I thought it was still 50.”

Risk on the rise

Recent research has shown an alarming rise in colorectal cancer (CRC) cases among younger individuals.

The American Cancer Society published evidence in January that colorectal cancer is now officially the leading cause of cancer-related death among men and women 50 and younger.

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This is a significant increase from the 1990s, when it was the fifth deadliest.

While overall cancer deaths have been on the decline for this age group since 1990, dropping by about 44% combined, CRC is the only major cancer that has seen a spike in mortality for those under 50 during that time period, the researchers noted.

Dr. Aparna Parikh, medical director of the Center for Young Adult Colorectal Cancer at the Mass General Cancer Center, who is not affiliated with the ACS, shared that experts don’t “entirely understand why” cases are on the rise.

“But it seems to be an interplay of a person’s risk factors, overall makeup and early exposures,” she previously told Fox News Digital. “The exposures include dietary exposures, environmental exposures and possible antibiotic exposures, as well as lifestyle factors in the right host.”

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Another recent ACS study discovered that drinking heavily and consistently over an adult’s lifetime could lead to a higher risk of colorectal cancer.

Other primary risk factors include family history, obesity, smoking, a diet high in red and processed meats, inflammatory bowel disease, and a personal history or family history of polyps.

In a Thursday appearance on “America’s Newsroom,” Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel commented on the rise of CRC among younger individuals.

“There is a genetic issue, but there’s also ultraprocessed foods — a new study out of Mass General shows a high diet in that… [you’re] 45% more likely to have colon cancer,” he said.

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There is also a 30% increase in risk with a diet higher in processed meats, like hot dogs, and a 20% increase with diets higher in red meat, according to Siegel.

“These are the villains here,” he said. “That, plus genetics. And I’m urging everyone out there — change the age for screening to 45, or even below if you have risk factors. That’s really key.”

Recognizing red flags

While there may be no symptoms of CRC before diagnosis, especially in the early stages, certain symptoms should not be overlooked, experts say.

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Dr. Eitan Friedman, Ph.D., an oncologist and founder of The Suzanne Levy-Gertner Oncogenetics Unit at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel, confirmed that changes in bowel habits are the primary red flag that should raise the suspicion of colorectal cancer.

Other symptoms include fatigue as a result of anemia, a change in bowel movements, stomach pain or abdominal discomfort, rectal bleeding or blood in stool, weakness and unexplained weight loss, Friedman, who did not treat Van Der Beek, told Fox News Digital.

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Dr. Erica Barnell, Ph.D., a physician-scientist at Washington University School of Medicine — and co-founder and chief medical officer at Geneoscopy — noted that the actor’s experience of having no “glaring” signs is common.

“Many colorectal cancers develop silently, without obvious symptoms,” Barnell, who also did not treat Van Der Beek, told Fox News Digital. “By the time symptoms appear, the disease may already be advanced.”

The key to getting ahead of colorectal cancer is early detection, according to experts.

“Colonoscopy at age 45 onwards, at five- to 10-year intervals, has been shown to lead to early detection of polyps that have the potential to become malignant, and to allow for their removal as an effective means of minimizing the risk of malignant transformation,” Friedman said.

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Unfortunately, Barnell noted, “screening compliance in the U.S. remains below national targets, and gaps are widest in rural, low-income and minority communities.”

“Most people don’t like talking about bowel habits, but paying attention to changes can save your life,” the doctor said. “Screening gives us the chance to find problems early — often before you feel sick — and that can make all the difference.”

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Siegel also pushed for colonoscopies as the best method to screen for CRC, especially if a polyp is detected and removed before turning into cancer.

Fox News Digital’s Christina Dugan Ramirez contributed to this report.

Think your sound machine is helping you sleep? It might be doing the opposite.

A new study from the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine found that listening to pink noise at bedtime could disturb REM sleep (dream sleep) and sleep recovery.

The research, published in the journal Sleep, found that earplugs were significantly more effective at blocking out traffic noise during sleep.

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The researchers observed 25 healthy adults between the ages of 21 and 41, in an eight-hour, seven-night sleep lab simulation, according to a Penn Medicine press release.

The participants said they did not previously use noise to help them sleep, and did not have any sleep disorders.

During the experiment, the participants slept under different sound exposures, including aircraft noise, pink noise, aircraft noise with pink noise, and aircraft noise with earplugs. The participants completed tests and surveys each morning to gauge sleep quality, alertness and other health effects.

Exposure to aircraft noise was associated with about 23 fewer minutes spent in the deepest stage of sleep compared to no noise, the study found. 

Earplugs prevented this decline in deep sleep “to a large extent,” the release stated.

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Pink noise at 50 decibels, which sounds similar to “moderate rainfall,” was associated with almost a 19-minute decrease in REM sleep.

Aircraft noise and pink noise combined led to “significantly shorter” REM and deep sleep compared to noise-free nights. Time spent awake was also 15 minutes longer with this combination, which was not observed with solo aircraft or pink noise.

Participants said their sleep felt “lighter,” the overall quality was worse, and they reported waking up more frequently when exposed to aircraft or pink noise compared to no noise, unless they used earplugs.

Lead study author Mathias Basner, M.D., Ph.D., professor of sleep and chronobiology in psychiatry, noted that REM sleep is important for “memory consolidation, emotional regulation and brain development.”

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“Our findings suggest that playing pink noise and other types of broadband noise during sleep could be harmful — especially for children whose brains are still developing and who spend much more time in REM sleep than adults,” he wrote in the release.

Basner noted it’s common for parents to place sound machines near their newborns or toddlers, with a “good intention” of helping them fall and stay asleep.

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There were some positive effects of pink noise, he said, including that it mitigated some deep sleep reduction and sleep fragmentation caused by “intermittent” environmental noise.

“If low amounts of deep sleep and sleep fragmentations are someone’s main sleep issues, pink noise could be overall beneficial for them,” he said. 

Importance of sound sleep

Individuals cycle through periods of deep sleep and REM sleep multiple times throughout the night, according to Penn Medicine. Deep sleep is important for physical restoration, memory consolidation and the clearing of toxins in the brain.

“Deep and REM sleep complement each other and collectively guarantee that we wake up restored in the morning, ready for the next day,” the release stated.

Dr. William Lu, a San Francisco sleep expert and medical director of Dreem Health, said these findings are a “significant pivot” from the sound machine trend.

“While pink noise might mask external disruptions, it introduces a constant stimulus that the brain still has to process,” he told Fox News Digital. “The most concerning finding is that we may be unknowingly sacrificing segments of our REM sleep.”

Differences between ambient noises

Different types of noise could potentially have different impacts on sleep, Lu acknowledged.

White noise translates as “equal energy across all frequencies” and sounds like harsh radio static, the sleep expert said. Brown noise emphasizes lower frequencies, resulting in a “deep, bass-heavy rumble” like distant thunder or a heavy waterfall.

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While pink noise also has more energy at lower frequencies, but not as deep as brown, it creates a “perceptually balanced” sound like steady rainfall or wind.

“The study suggests that pink noise acts as a continuous auditory load that specifically fragments and reduces REM sleep,” Lu summarized. 

Based on this type of research and data, the expert said he does not recommend using a sound machine as a “first-line” sleep aid in his own practice.

More research needed

The researchers concluded that the impact of pink noise and other audio sleep aids needs to be studied more thoroughly.

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“Overall, our results caution against the use of broadband noise, especially for newborns and toddlers, and indicate that we need more research in vulnerable populations on long-term use, on the different colors of broadband noise, and on safe broadband noise levels in relation to sleep,” Basner said.

In an interview with Fox News Digital, the researcher noted that the study, funded by the FAA, does have limitations — including that it did not investigate the effect on sleep when pink noise is used for longer periods of time.

The study was also relatively small, Basner said, and the researchers haven’t yet examined differences between individuals.

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“Until we have more research, I would recommend that if somebody wants to use pink noise, they should do it at the lowest sound level that still works for them — and if falling asleep is the main problem, put the machine/app on a timer so that it shuts off after the subject falls asleep,” he advised.

“Also, I would probably discourage general use [for] newborns and toddlers until we have more information.”