Dwyane Wade Shares 2023 Cancer Diagnosis: ‘Weakest Point I’ve Ever Felt in My Life’

The Hall of Fame guard opened up about a past health scare.

Dwyane Wade during France's 82–73 win over Canada in the Olympic men's basketball quarterfinals on Aug. 6, 2024. / Kyle Terada-Imagn Images

On Thursday, Hall of Fame guard Dwyane Wade revealed that he had a major health scare in the recent past.

Speaking on his podcast The Why With Dwyane Wade, Wade said he was diagnosed with kidney cancer in Dec. 2023.

"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 former Marquette, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Cleveland Cavaliers guard described going to the doctor to discuss several abnormalities, including cramps and urinary issues, and undergoing a full-body physical.

"What I had on my kidney was a cyst—a tumor," Wade said. "It was not nothing that could be biopsied. It wasn't anything that they could test unless they surgically went in and removed it."

A shocked Wade was told he needed to have kidney surgery to prevent the cyst spreading, which he did after soliciting the opinions of several doctors. Wade said his father and wife were present before and after the operation.

"To find out that at 41 years old, pretty healthy guy, I had cancer—thank God I did do the surgery," Wade said. "I have one kidney, and I have one kidney that is 60%. They took 40% of my kidney to make sure they got all the cancer off of it."

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