Dwyane Wade Says He Had Cancerous Tumor Removed From His Kidney
Dwyane Wade revealed that he underwent kidney surgery to remove a cancerous tumor in late 2023.
“In this past calendar year ... for probably the first time in my life, it’s unexpected,” Wade said on Thursday’s episode of his “The Why” podcast, explaining that he’s “an athlete who’s been pretty healthy.”
The three-time NBA champion, 43, noted that in post-retirement, “you don’t get [the] same checkups” and shared that he “took a few years off” from going to his annual physicals until he hit 40.
“I went in and I was like, ‘Doc, I want to know everything about my body, head to toe. I got some things that I’m feeling. I got some stomach issues,’” Wade recalled.
The former Miami Heat star said that while looking into why his urine “stream ain’t powerful,” the doctors discovered something devastating on his right kidney.
“I didn’t go in for my kidneys, and so what I had on my kidney was a cyst... a tumor,” the retired NBA star recalled. “It was not [something] that could be biopsied ... nothing they could test unless they went in and surgically removed it.”
Wade said his doctor told him he would need kidney surgery. He then went to “multiple” other doctors before deciding to get rid of the tumor “so it doesn’t spread.”
The dad of five said he had surgery on Dec. 18, 2023. “My father was there to walk me into the hospital. My wife [Gabrielle Union] was there when I woke up. There’s only two people you can have in the hospital.”
The former point guard said “thank God” he had the surgery because the “tumor was cancerous.”
He added, “So, I have one [full] kidney and I have another kidney that is 60%. They took 40% of my kidney to make sure they could get all the cancer off it.”
Elsewhere in the episode, Wade got candid about how he struggled after his family “saw me weak” for the first time amid the surgery.
Wade shares two children, Zaire and Zaya, with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, his son Xavier with ex Aja Metoyer, and his daughter Kaavia with Union. He is also the legal guardian of his nephew Dahveon Morris.
“That moment was probably the weakest point I’ve ever felt in my life,” Wade admitted. “The moments that I was by myself, I was struggling. One thing you never want to do as a man, you never want your family to see you weak.”
He then gushed about how his family “showed up” for him in his recovery process.
“I saw everybody show up for me and be there for me,” Wade said. “In that process of my weakness, I found strength in my family, in my friends, in my group.”
Wade said undergoing surgery has led him “to do things differently” since then.
“I came out of [surgery] and I’ve been doing things differently, and I’ve been attacking life the way that I ... I’m not waiting,” he added.
Watch a clip from Wade’s “The Why” podcast below.
