Grey’s Anatomy Star Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis Amid His Character’s Own Health Battle! – Perez Hilton

Grey’s Anatomy star James Pickens Jr. has some devastating news…

The 73-year-old actor revealed to Black Health Matters on Friday that he was diagnosed with prostate cancer — just as his onscreen character Dr. Richard Webber is dealing with a similar health battle on the show. Oh no. James isn’t shocked by the diagnosis, though. As he told the outlet, prostate cancer, unfortunately, runs in his family:

“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. 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.”

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Thankfully, as far as James knows, no one “has succumbed to it.” Phew.  But it’s because of his family history with the disease that he decided to do the responsible thing and get tested early, starting when he was 41 years old. Per the Cleveland Clinic, most men begin at 50. And due to James’ diligence, his doctors caught the cancer early:

“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.”

According to James, he found out he had a tumor on his prostate in January, but it hadn’t spread further. He subsequently decided to undergo a prostatectomy – a procedure in which the prostate gland is surgically removed. James continued:

“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.”

Thank goodness they did. Early detection is so key. Watch his PSA on the matter (below):

Perezcious readers know James has played Dr. Webber in all 22 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy. And this sad news comes as Thursday’s fall finale episode revealed his character told Dr. Miranda Bailey that he was diagnosed with an undisclosed type of cancer. Oof.

We’re sending James so much love and healing energy! Reactions, Perezcious readers? Let us know.

[Image via ABC/YouTube, Nicky Nelson/WENN]