"Traumatic for him": Gabrielle Union finally opens up about husband Dwyane Wade’s kidney cancer diagnosis

Gabrielle Union has recently opened up about her husband Dwyane Wade’s kidney cancer diagnosis.

During a February 26, 2025 episode of Today With Jenna & Friends, Gabrielle Union revealed that the year Wade was diagnosed[2023] was challenging for them.

“Obviously, him getting that diagnosis was traumatic for him, you know, being faced with your own mortality in your early 40s,” she said, as reported by Today.

“You’re like, ‘Am I going to be here to see my family? Who am I without this big life? Without this healthy body?’” She added that, “you also don’t understand the journey and the toll it takes on your marriage, on your family, on your kids.”

She explained that Wane was, "a little more hesitant to take us on that journey of healing.” Earlier, during an episode of his podcast, The Why With Dwyane Wade, the former NBA player revealed how he decided to undergo a medical checkup. Let us understand about it in depth.

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Dwyane Wade reveals about his cancer diagnosis

Dwyane Wade's journey began when he noticed minor health issues, such as stomach discomfort and a weaker urine stream, prompting him to undergo a full-body scan.

The former basketball star revealed the details about his health condition during a January 30 episode of his podcast, The Why With Dwyane Wade, according to a report in Today.

He revealed that he decided to schedule a full-body scan for himself when his father underwent surgery. As per a report in CBS News, Wane’s father battled prostate cancer.

Dwyane also mentioned that he hasn’t had regular medical checkups since he retired from the NBA in 2019. But when he did opt for the scan the doctors noticed something strange.

"Because I did the full-body scan, they were able to see my entire body, my entire inside, and they were able to see something that was on my kidney — on my right kidney," he said during the podcast, as reported by CBS News.

He revealed that he had a kidney tumor, according to a report in Newsweek, he said:

"So what I had on my kidney was a cyst tumour but it was nothing that could be biopsied, not nothing they could test unless they went in to surgically remove it...so now I'm in the doctor and the doctor is like 'you need surgery'...at that moment right there."

He reportedly went in for kidney surgery on December 18, 2023, and as a result,t had 40% of his right kidney removed due to the presence of a cancerous tumour.

"My own journey to have that surgery, I think it was the first time my family — my dad, my kids — they saw me weak," Wade said. "That moment was probably the weakest one I've ever felt in my life."

The Newsweek report indicated that he was glad that he had the surgery because the tumor was cancerous. He revealed during his podcast that now he functions on one kidney and another kidney which is 60 % (as 40% got removed in the surgery).

Dwyane Wade has been regarded as one of the best basketball players of his era. According to a report in Britannica, he won three National Basketball Association (NBA) championships reportedly in 2006, 2012, and 2013.

Dwyane Wade first met his wife, Gabrielle Union in 2007 when they teamed up to co-host Super Bowl party. After facing several ups and downs in their relationship, they decided to tie the knot on August 30, 2014, in a private ceremony, as reported by the New York Times. The couple welcomed a daughter, Kaavia James Wade through surrogacy in 2018.

They reportedly share five children a son from Wade’s previous partner, Aja Metoyer, another son and daughter from his ex-wife, Siohvaughn Funches, his adopted nephew, and his daughter with Gabrielle Union.

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