Grey’s Anatomy star James Pickens Jr., who has played Dr. Richard Webber on the hit ABC drama for its entire 20-year run, recently revealed that he is dealing with his own medical crisis. In an interview with Black Health Matters, Pickens, 71, shared that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer. “It’s not the kind of news anyone wants to hear, but to be honest, prostate cancer has run through my family,” Pickens said. “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 also shared that his doctors told him they had been “able to catch it so early because you were being tested,” after he had been referred to a urologist after a routine physical. He then opted to undergo a radical prostatectomy, in which the prostate is removed, and is sharing his story in order to challenge the stigma some men feel around discussing their health. His experience mirrors that of his onscreen counterpart, with Dr. Webber revealing in Thursday’s fall finale that he, too, had received a cancer diagnosis.
Read it at Black Health Matters
