James Pickens Jr., who’s best known for playing Dr. Richard Webber in Grey’s Anatomy, shocked fans upon revealing his cancer diagnosis. What made the news even more unsettling was that his on-screen character’s cancer battle was revealed in the season 22 midseason finale. As fans grapple with the revelation, many are wondering whether or not James is leaving the show.
The actor spoke with BlackHealthMatters.com in November 2025 to discuss his illness.
“It’s not the kind of news anyone wants to hear, but to be honest, prostate cancer has run through my family,” James pointed out. “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. No one, as far as I know, has succumbed to it.”
Below, News47.us has the latest updates about James’ presence on Grey’s Anatomy.
Yes, as previously noted, James was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2024.
“We caught it really early, and so they thought that would be the best route to take,” the Ohio native told BlackHealthMatters.com. “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.”
