“Grey’s Anatomy” actor James Pickens Jr. saves lives on display screen, however says early detection saved his.
The actor, who has portrayed Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC hit for greater than 20 years, appeared in an Instagram video on Friday, during which he disclosed that he’s “living proof” that early detection for prostate cancer “works.”
In a dialog with Black Health Matters, Pickens, 71, mentioned he’s at all times prioritized his yearly bodily and famous that prostate cancer runs in his household.
In 2024, he mentioned, his major doctor really useful that he see a urologist after a blood check got here again with elevated numbers that precipitated concern.
A biopsy later revealed a tumor, however a PET scan confirmed the cancer had not unfold. He went on to have a robotic process to take away a part of his prostate.
“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 advised the group.
The real-life information mirrored Pickens’ character’s storyline on “Grey’s,” which aired its midseason finale on Thursday.
In it, his character disclosed that he’d been identified with cancer. No additional particulars have been supplied on display screen. The present returns for the second half of its season in January.
Prostate cancer impacts 1 in 8 males, in response to the American Cancer Society. The danger is even greater in Black males, as Pickens identified in his video, including “early detection is key.”