Dwyane Wade's most recent headache was a ridiculous bronze statue of him, but that's infinitely preferable to some other scares in his life. During his and his cohost Bobby Metelus' first-ever live audience taping for their newest episode of their "The Why" podcast, the Miami Heat icon spoke on his recent cancer scare to 30 men at a Men's Wellness Retreat. Moreover, the conversation broadly ranged from physical health and spiritual togetherness to the emphasis on safe spaces for men to be vulnerable about these issues. In the sit-down – published Thursday (January 30) – he went into more detail about his specific experience with a cancerous tumor.
Furthermore, Dwyane Wade revealed that doctors removed 40 percent of his kidney about 13 months ago due to this tumor, which came a couple of years after he retired from the NBA. The sometimes divisive advocate explained that he put off going to the doctor for a physical for years, but considering his father's journey with prostate cancer, he finally went to a medic to inquire about cramps, stomach issues, and problems with healthy urination.
Dwyane Wade's Newest Podcast Episode
"On the process of checking, like, ‘Why is my piss coming out slow, why is my stream ain’t powerful? Why is it a little weak?’" Dwyane Wade remarked during the podcast. A full-body scan revealed a cyst or tumor in his left kidney, and his surgery to remove almost half of his kidney on December 18, 2023 identified it as a cancerous tumor. "My own journey to have that surgery, I think it was the first time that my family, my dad, my kids, they saw me weak," Wade remarked about his family seeing him at "probably the weakest point [he's] ever felt in [his] life."
"The moment I was by myself, I was struggling, dog," Dwyane Wade continued. "What I saw in the midst of me going through my illness, I saw my family that may not always talk, may not always agree. I saw everybody show up for me and be there for me. And in that process, in my weakness, I found strength in my family. As a man, you never want your family to see you weak. Don’t want to be perceived weak, don’t want to be seen in your weakest moments, but I had to."