Callum Jones
Grey’s Anatomy's star James Pickens Jr. has revealed he's been diagnosed with a 'rare variant' of prostate cancer.
Pickens - who has played Dr Richard Webber in all 22 seasons of the ABC medical drama - revealed the news during an interview with Black Health Matters.
Speaking about his diagnosis, the actor admitted it wasn't really a shock as cancer runs in his family, but that medics had found 'a rare variant that you don’t see very often'.
"It’s not the kind of news anyone wants to hear, but to be honest, prostate cancer has run through my family," he 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."
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The actor added: "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."
Pickens went on to explain that the cancer was discovered after he got a PSA test (prostate-specific antigen), as he was ultimately sent for an MRI scan which picked up 'something suspicious'.
The 71-year-old later went for a biopsy which revealed a tumor that has since been removed. Thankfully, the cancer has not spread.
"We caught it really early, and so they thought that would be the best route to take," the actor added. "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."
Pickens is speaking out to try and break the stigma surrounding prostate cancer and men talking about their health more generally.
The Grey's Anatomy star added: "Where we are and how we view the medical community, especially as African American men. 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."
Prostate cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in men, behind only lung cancer, according to the American Cancer Society.
Men aged 65 or older account for six in ten diagnoses, while the risk is believed to be higher among African American men and in Caribbean men of African ancestry.
One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, with more than 35,000 men in the US estimated to die from the disease this year.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence, contact the American Cancer Society on 1-800-227-2345 or via their live chat feature, available 24/7 every day of the year.