James Pickens Jr., who has played Dr. Richard Webber on “Grey’s Anatomy” for all 22 seasons, announced he has prostate cancer.
“It’s not the kind of news anyone wants to hear, but to be honest, prostate cancer has run through my family,” he said to Black Health Matters recently. “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.”
Pickens said he has been regularly monitored for prostate-specific-antigen levels since his 40s.
“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,’” he told the publication.
Pickens was diagnosed in 2024, and said he opted to have his entire prostate removed because his doctors “wanted to err on the side of caution.”
On the show, Pickens’ character also revealed he had cancer in Season 22’s midseason finale, People noted.
“I’ve got a 90-year-old first cousin, who’s still alive, actually; he had it,” Pickens said. “His son has it. A couple of his brothers had it. No one, as far as I know, has succumbed to it.”