Grey’s Anatomy star James Pickens Jr diagnosed with prostate cancer, undergoes surgery: ‘My father had it’

Grey's Anatomy actor James Pickens Jr has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. The 71-year-old has played the role of Dr Richard Webber since the first season of the show. In the season 22 midseason finale, his character, Dr Webber, is revealed to have cancer, but it is not mentioned which kind.

James Pickens Jr diagnosed with prostate cancer

In real life, Pickens opened up about his prostate cancer diagnosis in a conversation with Black Health Matters. He shared that his father, too, had prostate cancer, along with many other men in his family.

He told the organization, as quoted by Entertainment Weekly, "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. He had a lot of brothers; several of them had it. I would have been surprised if I hadn’t gotten it."

“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," the actor added.

James Pickens Jr on early detection and cancer surgery

Owing to his family history, James Pickens Jr revealed that he has been getting himself checked at the doctor's for the last 34 years. He said he underwent PSA testing (prostate-specific antigen) since the age of 41.

However, earlier this year, in January, his doctor raised a red flag after seeing elevated PSA levels, referring him to a urologist.

After an MRI, he said that “something suspicious” was noticed.

Though the biopsy confirmed a tumor, a scan showed that the cancer did not spread. The actor opted for a radical prostatectomy to remove it, which was done robotically by two urologists.

“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,” he 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.”

James Pickens Jr on Black Health Matters

Drawing reference from his incident, the actor urged everyone to opt for early testing. Pickens starred in a video shared by the organization on social media.

In it, he said, “One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime.”

"For Black men, the risk is even higher. Fortunately, prostate cancer is highly treatable, but early detection is the key, and sometimes there are no noticeable symptoms. For years, I worked with Black Health Matters to urge men to get screened regularly, starting with a simple blood test.

“Today, I am living proof that early detection works. If you’re Black, or prostate cancer runs in your family, talk to your doctor about getting screened starting at age 40.”