15/11/2025
James Pickens Jr. 71, Greys Anatomy actor, talked about his own prostate cancer diagnosis, telling Black Health Matters, “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."
He 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.”
Because of this history, Pickens said he's been getting annual physicals for 34 years and has done PSA testing (prostate-specific antigen) since he was 41. In January, his doctor noticed elevated PSA levels and referred him to a urologist, who did an MRI that revealed "something suspicious.”
A biopsy then revealed a tumor, but a scan showed that the cancer had not spread. The actor elected to have a radical prostatectomy to remove it, which was done robotically by two urologists and resulted in a one-day stay in the hospital. “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,” he told the organization. “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.”
To further help get the word out about early testing, Pickens filmed a PSA with Black Health Matters, shared jointly to the org's socials and his own. "One in eight men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime," he began in the video. "For Black men, the risk is even higher. Fortunately, prostate cancer is highly treatable, but early detection is the key, and sometimes there are no noticeable symptoms. For years, I worked with Black Health Matters to urge men to get screened regularly, starting with a simple blood test."
He continued, "Today, I am living proof that early detection works. If you’re Black, or prostate cancer runs in your family, talk to your doctor about getting screened starting at age 40. To learn more, go to blackhealthmatters.com."
