(CBS Sports) NBA legend Dwyane Wade was diagnosed with cancer and had part of his right kidney removed in 2023, he revealed in the latest episode of his podcast, “The Why With Dwyane Wade.”
“To find out that at 41 years old, pretty healthy guy, I had cancer — thank God I did do the surgery because the tumor was cancerous,” Wade said. “I have one kidney, and I have one kidney that is 60 percent. They took 40 percent of my kidney to make sure they got all the cancer off of it.”
Wade explained that he stopped getting physicals after retiring from the NBA at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season. However, he started dealing with some stomach and urinary issues.
His father, Dwyane Wade Sr., went through his own journey with prostate cancer, which motivated the former NBA star to go to the doctor. He said he went in without thinking about his kidneys, but a full-body scan revealed Wade had a “cyst/tumor” on his right kidney.
At that point it wasn’t confirmed that it was cancerous, but multiple doctors suggested surgery. The procedure took place on Dec. 18, 2023. It was tough physically, but also mentally.
“My own journey to have that surgery, I think it was the first time that my family, my dad, my kids, they saw me weak,” Wade said. “That moment was probably the weakest point I’ve ever felt in my life.
“The moments that I was by myself, I was struggling, dog. Struggling. And one thing you never want to do as a man is you never want your family to see you as weak. You don’t want to be perceived as weak and you don’t want to be seen in your weak moments. But I had to.”
Wade, 43, also leaned on former Miami Heat teammate Alonzo Mourning, who had a kidney transplant in 2003.
“I saw everybody show up for me and be there for me and in that process. In my weakness, I found strength in my family, in my friends, in my group.”
That experience taught him how to pay more attention to his body and ask questions when he goes to the doctor. It also helped him be more intentional about his life and recognize that it’s OK to take “timeouts.”
“I told myself before I went under anesthesia, if I come out of this, if the lord brings me out of this, I’m going to do things differently,” Wade said. “I came out of that and I’ve been doing things differently. I’ve been attacking life in a way that I’m not waiting.
“I asked in one of the podcasts, if the doctor calls you and says you have a week to live, would you live that week differently?”
Up until this podcast episode, Wade had only told a few close family members and friends about his kidney. However, he felt the need to check in with himself a year later.
Wade spent most of his 16-year NBA career with the Heat, where he still holds multiple franchise records including points, assists and steals. His No. 3 jersey was retired in 2020 and the team put up a statue of Wade outside Kaseya Center in October. The impressive resume that got him into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023 includes three NBA championships, 13 All-Star appearances and two Olympic medals. He averaged 22.0 points, 5.4 assists, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals and shot 48% from the field.
