Hall of Fame player Dwyane Wade said doctors performed a December 2023 surgery on his kidney to remove a tumor later determined to be cancerous.
“Thank God that I did do the surgery,” Wade said on his “The Why With Dwyane Wade” podcast episode released Thursday.
Wade said he had not had regular physical exams in a few years before seeing a doctor due to stomach and urinary issues. A full body scan discovered what he described as a “cyst/tumor” that led to the surgery, which Wade said removed 40% of his right kidney.
“I think it was the first time my family — my dad, my kids — they saw me weak,” he said. “That moment was probably the weakest point I’ve ever felt in my life. The moments I was by myself, I was struggling, dog. Struggling.
"And one thing you never want to do as a man, you never want your family to see you as weak. You don’t want to be perceived weak and you don’t want to be seen in your weak moments. But I had to.”
According to the American Cancer Society, kidney cancer is among the 10 most common cancers in the U.S.
Dr. Jonathan Silberstein, chief of the uro-oncology program at Memorial Healthcare System, explained the prevalence of the disease.
“Clear cell renal cell carcinoma is quite a common tumor. There are about 85,000 new Americans every year diagnosed with it. It’s a little bit more common in men than women, and we don’t fully understand why,” he said.
Surgery is the primary treatment for most stages of kidney cancer, as was the case for Wade.
“That’s really what we prefer to do for the vast majority of our patients with kidney cancer, is to preserve as much of a healthy kidney as possible, but to remove the area that has cancer in it,” Silberstein added. “That healthy kidney continues to function and continues to provide benefit for those patients for the rest of their lives.”
Wade said his decision to get a full health evaluation led to the discovery.
“I went in to get myself checked out. I went in and I was like, ‘Doc, I want to know everything about my body, head to toe,’” Wade said.
Silberstein praised Wade for sharing his diagnosis and hopes it encourages others to take their health seriously.
“He is a high-profile, very fit individual, and that should remind us that cancers can happen to all of us,” Silberstein said.
Wade retired in 2019 after 16 years in the NBA, highlighted by 15 seasons with the Miami Heat that included winning three world championships and being a 13-time all-star. He also led Marquette to the 2003 Final Four.
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