On the Jan. 30 episode of Dwyane Wade‘s podcast, The Why With Dwyane Wade, the NBA icon opened up about a cancer diagnosis that reframed his life and led to him losing 40% of his right kidney.
According to Today.com, Wade shared that he hadn’t maintained regular medical checkups since retiring from the NBA in 2019. When his father underwent surgery, he decided to check in on his own health. At the time, the former NBA point guard was experiencing stomach discomfort and a weaker urine stream — issues he assumed were minor.
Wade remembered asking the doctors, “Why is my p**s coming out slow? Why is my stream ain’t powerful? Why is it a little weak?”
Wade decided to schedule a full-body scan, which led to doctor’s discovering a tumor on his kidney.
“I didn’t go in for my kidneys,” he said. “But because I did the full-body scan, they saw something.”
Doctors could not biopsy the tumor, so Wade would have to go under the knife to determine the nature of the mass. Doctors performed that surgery on Dec. 18, 2023, during which 40% of Wade’s kidney was removed.
“Thank God that I did do the surgery, right?” Wade said of the life-saving procedure. “Because the tumor was cancerous.”
Wade also opened up about the recovery process, which he said was more physically and emotionally difficult than expected.
“I think it was the first time my family, my dad, my kids, they saw me weak,” the father of five said. “That moment was probably the weakest I’ve ever felt in my life.”
He continued, “One thing you never want to do as a man? You never want your family to see you weak.”
According to People, additional details about Wade’s current health have not been shared.