Gabrielle Union is giving an update on her husband Dwyane Wade’s health following the removal of a cancerous tumor from his kidney.
The Hall of Fame basketball star, 43, revealed in a January episode of The WY Network podcast that he had 40% of his right kidney removed after undergoing surgery on Dec. 18, 2023.
After being asked by Sunny Hostin if her husband is “better now” during the Thursday, Feb. 27 episode of The View, Union, 52, responded, “Yes, he’s had the surgery and he’s cancer-free, but it was a challenge.”
The initial news about Wade’s cancer diagnosis left Union “in such shock,” she said.
“You hear cancer [and] you’re paralyzed because you think of the absolute worst-case scenario. I’ve had so many friends who are cancer survivors,” she continued. “I didn’t go there; I went to ‘he’s gone.’ ”
She said it took her and her loved ones “a while” to digest the news.
The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!
Dia Dipasupil/Getty
“He didn’t tell everybody. He didn’t even tell our whole family. He really wanted this to be very under the radar. He didn’t tell anyone,” said Union.
The actress and Wade share 6-year-old daughter Kaavia James. In addition, Wade is a father to Zaire, 23 and Zaya, 17, with ex-wife Siohvaughn Funches, and has a son named Xavier, 11, with Aja Metoyer. He is also the legal guardian of his nephew, Dahveon Morris, 21.
While publicly revealing his diagnosis on a January episode of The WY Network podcast, Wade said, “It was the first time that my family, my dad, my kids, they saw me weak.”
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for Vanity Fair
“That moment was probably the weakest point I’ve ever felt in my life,” said Wade. “The moment I was by myself, I was struggling, dog.”
Although he did not want his family to see him in that state, he said they were ultimately one of the main reasons why he opted for the surgery.
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“I had a personal decision to make, and what it was was, ‘If this is cancerous, if this tumor, this cyst is cancerous, on your kidney, you’re 41 years old, you probably need surgery because it’s something that needs to be removed so it doesn’t spread,’ ” said Wade.
Read the full article here
