Last week, in an exclusive interview with The Today Show, retired NBA player Dwayne Wade revealed how he discovered he had kidney cancer in 2023. When he turned 40, he learned his father had been diagnosed with prostate cancer. “In the discovery of that, I also learned that my grandfather had prostate cancer. This is probably a part of my genetics and my history. Let me go get checked out,” Wade says in a video interview.
When Wade got to his doctor’s appointment, he was very transparent. He shared with his HCP some of the symptoms he had been feeling. “Sometimes, when I would go to the bathroom, my urine would come out a little slow; it would take a little more time. Sometimes I would have some cramps, some pain a little at times, in my stomach,” he explained. Wade wanted to understand what was going on with his body.
Wade hadn’t kept with regular medical exams since retiring from the NBA in 2019. He was fortunate that his father’s diagnosis propelled him into action.
There is no telling when he may have gone in for a check-up. It had been four years already. Imagine if he had waited longer; most Black men do.
When Wade got a call from his doctor that there was something concerning about his kidney, “Immediately, they tried to say, we don’t if it is cancerous, but there is something on there, and you are a young man we want to make sure that you can live this healthy lifestyle,” Wade said.
Wade talked, doing his due diligence. He got a second opinion, then a third. But he realized that he had to have surgery to confirm whether he did indeed have cancer.
The operation in December 2023 led to the removal of 40% of Wade’s kidney.
In her appearance last month on Jenna & Friends, Wade’s wife, Gabrielle Union, explained that he was “a little more hesitant” at the time to bring his family along on his “journey of healing” from the cancer.
“That level of vulnerability, to go through removal of a good chunk of his kidney and the healing that involved, he needed us to be OK with his vulnerability. But more than that, he needed to be OK with his vulnerability,” she said. “It was a challenge to give grace and receive it.”
Wade discussed having to shed his personas of being the “strong” one,” the hall of famer.” “I’m a very prideful man. I was most afraid of being that vulnerable in front of my wife,” he confessed.
Now cancer-free, Wade makes sure he and his family talk about their genetic health history so that their children aren’t left guessing about what diseases may impact them in the future. Knowledge is power.
To learn more about kidney cancer treatment diagnosis and treatment options, go to kidneycancer.org.
