Basketball Icon Dwyane Wade, 43, Reveals He's Feeling 'Strong and Healthy' After Cancer Battle — Saying He's 'Free' Of Disease
After overcoming the health scare, Wade admitted it made him learn what was "important" in life.
March 12 2025, Published 6:30 p.m. ET
Dwyane Wade has revealed he's feeling "strong and healthy" after his battle with cancer.
RadarOnline.com can reveal the basketball icon admitted he's "free" from the disease and is feeling "strong and healthy" during an appearance on TODAY.
The Miami Heat icon dreads a cancer relapse despite life-saving surgery.
Wade, 43, revealed how he received the shocking diagnosis during a regular checkup with his doctor.
Earlier this year, the athlete shared he had 40 percent of one of his kidneys removed after finding a cancerous tumor.
Before the appointment that changed his life, Wade said he felt "pretty healthy" at the time, but mentioned he was experiencing stomach pain and changes in how he urinated.
He explained: "I talked about just having a slow stream, like sometimes when I would go to the bathroom, my urine would come out a little slow.
"I had some cramps, some pain, a little bit at times in my stomach that I did not understand. But I didn’t think nothing of it. And so once I finally went in, I was like, OK, I just want to know everything."
Wade's doctor insisted he undergo an MRI to investigate the pain he was having, which led to him receiving the diagnosis.
He said: "She expressed to me that it was very early, but they thought they saw something on my kidneys. I didn’t go in for my kidneys. I went in to check what was going on my stomach and my prostate."
The doctor suggested he undergo more scans and speak to a specialist regarding the issue.
The superstar athlete's second MRI showed a mass on his kidney.
The superstar athlete's second MRI showed a mass on his kidney.
He recalled "panicking" over the word cancer and struggled with coming to terms with the diagnosis.
Wade explained: "Immediately they try to say, 'Well, we don’t know if it’s cancerous, but it’s something on there, and you’re a young man, and we just want to make sure that, you obviously are able to live this healthy lifestyle.
"So now I’m processing the possibility of surgery on my kidneys. I’ve had it on my knees, I’ve had it on my shoulder, but it’s something that feels a little realer when it’s inside your body."
After much consideration, the athlete agreed to undergo surgery.
He said: "(My doctor said) in the next five or 10 years, if this is cancer, (it can) not only spread through your kidneys, but it (can) also spread through your lungs and eventually to your brain. That’s when I knew that was, like, really serious."
Wade had the surgery in December 2023 with his wife, Gabrielle Union, and his dad right by his side for support.
Wade eventually learned the lesion was Stage 1 cancer.
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After his surgery, Wade felt excruciating pain but was too "prideful" and didn't like his wife and kids seeing him at a "weak" moment in his life.
Wade eventually learned the lesion was Stage 1 cancer.
He proudly said: "Thank God that we caught it early.
"This wasn’t something that was able to grow. It was about 3 centimeters on my kidney."
After overcoming the health scare, Wade admitted it made him learn what was "important" in life.
He explained: "I needed to sit down and think about my life, think about where I was and where I wanted to go, what was important, what wasn’t important, and it set me down."
