NBA legend Dwyane Wade has revealed how subtle abdominal pain and routine control led him to a shocking diagnosis of kidney cancer.
The 43-year-old former Miami Heat player shared earlier this year that he had removed 40 percent of one of his kidneys in December 2023 after finding a 1-cancer-like tumor phase.
Both Wade's father and grandfather had fought against prostate cancer – a fact that he had always worried about his health.
So when he began to notice a small change in his urination and suffered from abdominal pain three years ago, he decided to go to the doctor, although he felt 'pretty healthy'.
He said: 'I spoke about having a slow stream, as sometimes when I went to the bathroom, my urine would not come out slowly.
'I had some cramps, some pain, sometimes a bit in my stomach that I didn't understand. But I didn't think anything about it. And so when I finally went inside, I thought: “Ok, I just want to know everything”.
To find the source of his pain, the Wade doctor asked him to undergo an MRI of his kidney, stomach and prostate.
The scan showed a large mass on his kidney that doctors decided to remove surgically – revealing the Steratleet had kidney cancer.
NBA legend Dwyane Wade has revealed how a routine control for stomach pain led him to discover his diagnosis of kidney cancer
Wade said today: '[The doctor] Understanding me it was very early, but they thought they saw something on my kidneys. I didn't go to my kidneys. I went inside to check what was going on on my stomach and prostate. ”
The doctor suggested that he is undergoing further scans with a specialist.
His second MRI scan also showed a mass of 1.1 inches on one of his kidneys – so that doctors consider removing an operation to remove the lesion to prevent it from spreading.
After the operation, his doctor told him that his cancer was stage 1.
The survival percentage of five years for phase 1 kidney cancer is 93 percent.
The father of four remembered how in panic he felt after he heard that he had cancer and reminded us of fighting the decision to have a life -changing procedure.
He said: “They immediately try to say:” Well, we don't know if it's cancer, but it's something there and you're a young man, and we just want to make sure that you are clearly able to live this healthy lifestyle. ”
'So now I process the possibility of surgery on my kidneys. I have had it on my knees, I have had it on my shoulder, but it is something that feels a bit realistic when it is in your body.
'[My doctor said] In the next five or 10 years, if this is cancer, [it can] Not only distributed by your kidneys, but also it [can] Also spread through your lungs and ultimately to your brain. Then I knew that was really serious. '
Kidney cancer, also known as kidney cancer, is usually diagnosed in people 55 and 74 and men are more susceptible than women to develop the condition.
The American Cancer Society estimates that last year around 81,610 was diagnosed with kidney cancer and 14,390 people died.
The 43-year-old former Miami Heat player shared that he had removed 40 percent of his kidney in December 2023 after finding a phase 1 cancer-like tumor
To understand the source of his pain, the Wade doctor asked him to undergo an MRI scan about his kidney, stomach and prostate
Risk factors for cancer are smoking, obesity, high blood pressure, chronic kidney disease or family history.
Symptoms can be blood in the urine, a lump in the abdomen or back pain, fever, weight loss and fatigue.
The most common form of kidney cancer treatments are surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Invasive renal surgery can include the removal of a part or all kidney and can also include removing lymph nodes and other infected tissues.
In the case of Wade, doctors carried out a partial nephrectomy, which remove approximately 40 percent From his kidney to ensure that all cancer was gone.
A partial nephrectomy includes the removal of part of the kidney where the tumor is, while the rest is saved by damage or removal.
Experts carry out this procedure on those whose tumor is less than 2.7 inches or if the patient has only one kidney.
The procedure can be carried out using open surgery or minimum invasive techniques, such as laparoscopy or robotics.
Wade here with wife Gabrielle Union at the Out 100 event 2024 in Neuehouse Hollywood on December 11, 2024
Although he had unbearable pain, Wade felt relieved and grateful for undergoing the procedure before the cancer could spread
Although a common procedure, some of the risks related to partial nephrectomy blood clots, infection, damage to the remaining kidney tissue and in some cases kidney failure.
It usually takes a few weeks to a few months before the kidney can heal completely and during this time patients tend to experience some pain, swelling and bruises in the area around the incision.
Although I had unbearable pain, Wade felt Relieved and grateful for undergoing the procedure before the cancer could spread.
'Thank good that we caught it early. This was not something that could grow. It was about three centimeters on my kidney, “he said.
Since them he believes that the test has helped him clarify him about his life and his future.
He said: 'I had to sit down and think about my life, think about where I was and where I wanted to go, which was important, which was not important and it put me down.
“I spent a lot of time writing in my diary, spent a lot of time thinking about what I want to look and feel in the next 40 years, and so it is a very important time in my life at the same time.”
