James Pickens Jr's Prostate Cancer Journey

In November 2025, actor James Pickens Jr revealed that he had been declared cancer-free. Best known for his role as Dr Richard Webber on the hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy, Pickens was first diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2024. Since then, he has been undergoing active treatment.

In his recent announcement, Pickens revealed that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2024 during his annual physical checkup. This reveal came shortly after his character in Grey’s Anatomy faced a cancer diagnosis, and was aired as a post-credit scene in the form of a public service announcement.

In his interview with Black Health Matters, he shared, “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.”

During his annual physical, his doctors had noticed that his PSA levels were increasing. He was referred to a urologist and a subsequent MRI and biopsy revealed the presence of a tumor in his prostate. Fortunately, due to his family history, Pickens had been diligently monitoring his health and his cancer was caught early. Further scans also showed that the cancer has not spread.

“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,” he shared.

Pickens was given two options — he could either opt for radiation therapy or a prostatectomy (surgery to remove part of or the entire prostate gland). After considering his options and consulting his urologists, he opted to undergo radical prostatectomy.

“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. 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,” he shared.

Today, Pickens is cancer-free. By sharing his own experience with prostate cancer, Pickens hopes to encourage others, especially African American men, to go for regular screenings. He shared, “Fortunately, prostate cancer is highly treatable, but early detection is the key, and sometimes there are no noticeable symptoms.” He also hopes to alleviate the stigma that keeps men from openly discussing their health, particularly when it comes to prostate cancer.