NEED TO KNOW
James Pickens Jr. is opening up about his own cancer diagnosis, just days after his Grey’s Anatomy character’s cancer was revealed in the show’s season 22 midseason finale.
In the final moments of the Nov. 13 episode, Pickens’ character, Dr. Richard Webber, shared that he has cancer. Now, in a candid interview with Black Health Matters, the 73-year-old actor is opening up about the real-life moment when he learned that he is the latest in his family to face prostate cancer.
“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,” said Pickens, who has starred in Grey’s Anatomy since the show’s debut in 2005.
“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,” he added.
Disney/Ser Baffo
Due to his family history, Pickens has been proactive about his health, getting annual physicals and beginning PSA (prostate-specific antigen) testing at the age of 41.
“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 Black Health Matters.
During the actor’s annual physical in January, doctors noticed that his PSA levels were elevated and referred him to a urologist, who had Pickens undergo an MRI. “It revealed, as he called it, something suspicious,” he recalled.
A subsequent biopsy revealed a tumor, and a PET scan showed that the cancer had not spread beyond the prostate.
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Pickens chose to have a radical prostatectomy — performed robotically by two urologists — to remove the tumor.
“We caught it really early, and so they thought that would be the best route to take,” the actor said, noting, “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.”
“It was rare enough that they wanted to make sure that they were crossing all the T’s and dotting all their I’s,” he added. “But they hadn’t seen one that was detected as early as mine.”
Pickens told Black Health Matters that he is sharing his personal cancer story in an effort to remove the stigma that men have in talking openly about their health.
“Where we are and how we view the medical community, especially as African American men,” he said. “We know the history of that, and how far that goes back in terms of our trepidation about being tested, and getting something as simple as a physical.”
Pickens filmed a PSA with Black Health Matters to raise awareness for the importance of early detection.
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“One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime,” he says in the video. “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 adds: “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.”
