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Grey’s Anatomy star James Pickens Jr. has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer — just days after his character received the same news.
The actor, 73, opened up about his diagnosis in a recent interview, saying that cancer has affected his family for generations.
“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 told Black Men’s Health. “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.
In a public service announcement put out by the outlet, Pickens encouraged viewers to get cancer screenings. He said his own cancer testing, which he’s been consistent about over the years because of his family’s history, helped detect it early.
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James Pickens Jr.’s character, Dr. Richard Webber, revealed his cancer diagnosis to Dr. Miranda Bailey, played by Chandra Wilson, on Grey’s Anatomy’s midseason finale of season 22 (Disney)
“I started getting my annual physical 34 years ago. And I started my PSA testing when I was 41; I’m 73 now. My urologist said. ‘Because you were so diligent in that piece of your health, it was to your advantage. We were able to catch it so early because you were being tested.”
Pickens has starred on Grey’s Anatomy since the medical drama debuted in 2005. He plays Dr. Richard Webber, who shared his cancer diagnosis in the shocking fall finale last week.
But while the doctor’s fate was left up in the air in the final moments of season 22 midseason finale’s cliffhanger on Thursday, Pickens has spoken about the decision he made to treat his prostate cancer. The actor said during his annual physical last year, his prostate-specific antigen levels were normal. But when he went back for an appointment in January, they found the numbers had gone up, bringing him to a urologist.
“The urologist looked at him and said, ‘Yeah, there’s something here. Let’s do an MRI,’ which we did, and it revealed, as he called it, something suspicious,” he said.
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James Pickens Jr. had a prostatectomy to treat his prostate cancer (Getty Images)
A scheduled biopsy revealed the tumor. However, Pickens said a PET scan showed them the cancer had not spread and stayed in one area of the prostate. The actor underwent a prostatectomy to treat the cancer, meaning his prostate gland was removed.
“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 told the outlet. “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.”
Pickens said he shared his diagnosis to break the stigma around men speaking out about their health, saying one in eight men are 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,” Pickens said in the video.
He added, “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.”