James Pickens Jr. has revealed he’s been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The news comes in tandem with his Grey’s Anatomy character, Dr. Richard Webber, sharing he has cancer, which was revealed toward the end of the Nov. 13 episode.
In a new interview with Black Health Matters, the actor opened up about his diagnosis and how it has affected several family members.
“It’s not the kind of news anyone wants to hear, but to be honest, prostate cancer has run through my family. My father had it,” Pickens said. “He had a lot of brothers; several of them had it. I would have been surprised if I hadn’t gotten it.”
The actor continued: “I’ve got a 90-year-old first cousin, who’s still alive, actually; he had it. His son has it. A couple of his brothers had it. No one, as far as I know, has succumbed to it.”
Pickens — who has starred on Grey’s Anatomy since the show’s premiere in 2005, appearing across all 22 seasons — said he has been proactive about getting health screenings. He began PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing when he was 41. He is now age 73. He stressed that prostate cancer is “highly treatable,” but that “early detection is the key” in last week’s Grey’s Anatomy episode via a PSA.
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“My urologist said, ‘Because you were so diligent in that piece of your health, it was to your advantage,” he told Black Health Matters. “We were able to catch it so early because you were being tested.’”
In 2024, during his annual physical exam when he also underwent PSA testing, his numbers appeared in normal range. But earlier this year, his numbers had ticked up so he was sent for an MRI, which a urologist said revealed “something suspicious.” A biopsy later revealed a tumor, which had not spread and he underwent a prostatectomy.
“We caught it really early, and so they thought that would be the best route to take. I do have a rare variant that you don’t see very often. They wanted to err on the side of caution and keep an eye on it,” Pickens said. “It was rare enough that they wanted to make sure that they were crossing all the T’s and dotting all their I’s. But they hadn’t seen one that was detected as early as mine.”
From Rolling Stone US
