Checkup May Have Saved Dwyane Wade's Life

Dwyane Wade says he stopped getting physicals after he retired from the NBA in 2019, but his father's struggle with prostate cancer motivated him to get a checkup that may have saved his life. On his podcast "The Why With Dwyane Wade," the 43-year-old revealed that a full-body scan detected a tumor on his kidney, NBC News reports. He said he had been putting off getting a checkup for years despite issues including cramps and urine flow that was "a little weak," People reports. He said surgeons removed 40% of his right kidney in December 2023. "Thank God that I did do the surgery, right?" Wade said. "Because the tumor was cancerous."

"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 said, per CBS Sports. "That moment was probably the weakest point I've ever felt in my life." He said he had support from former Miami Heat teammate Alonzo Mourning, who had a kidney transplant in 2003. "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, in my friends, in my group." Wade said. (More Dwyane Wade stories.)