Subscribe

Last month, Dwyane Wade revealed he had surgery in 2023 to remove a cancerous tumor, and in a new interview on Today with Jenna & Friends, he opened up more about the entire ordeal and how he leaned on his family, loved ones and friends during the stressful time.

For him, the health journey started years prior when he learned that both his father and grandfather had both been diagnosed with prostate cancer, so he proactively went to the doctor to stay on top of his health

“I just started to be like, okay, well, this is probably a part of my genetics and my history, let me go get checked out. When I turned 40, I went into the doctor and I was like, ‘Listen, I want to know everything.’ And in the midst of that, I was like, ‘Here are a few things that I’ve been feeling,'” Wade remembers.

So, while at his annual checkup, he explained some symptoms he’d been feeling, which included constant cramps and issues urinating, detailing that “urine would come out a little slow.”

His doctor sent him to get a full body scan, which later revealed there was a growth in his kidney.

“I got a call from my doctor, and in the midst of that call, you could just hear her uncertainty,” he recalled. “They thought they saw something on my kidney. They were like, ‘Well, we don’t know if it’s cancerous, but there’s something on there.'”

After further testing and getting opinions from two other medical professionals, he decided to undergo surgery to remove the growth.

“‘Listen, we’ll not know unless we’re able to go in and have surgery, and then we’re able to test it. We want to get it off because we don’t want this to spread,’” a third doctor told him. “So now, yeah, now I’m scared, and that’s when I knew it was really serious.”

That’s when he started to really worry about it possibly being cancerous, and the reality of the situation began to set in, along with facing his own mortality.

“You know, you start thinking about not coming out of it,” Wade said. “I found out you can only have two people in the waiting room — one to walk you in, and one once you wake up.”

He explains that he’s always personally portrayed himself as the “strong one,” and after he came out of surgery, it was tough for him to be that vulnerable and admit the toll the process had on him.

Ultimately, though, the procedure was successful, and the growth was confirmed to be cancerous but only Stage 1.

“Thank god that we caught it early,” Wade said. “Now, I’m back. I’m strong, I’m healthy. I feel great. I’m just a little more cautious.”

Gabrielle Union Explains Why She Finally Stopped Splitting Finances 50/50 With Dwyane Wade
RBC Hosted "Riff Raff" Premiere Party At RBC House, Toronto International Film Festival 2024
21 photos