Miami Heat icon Dwyane Wade had a cancerous tumor removed from his kidney in December 2023, he revealed Thursday on his podcast "The Why with Dwyane Wade."

Wade visited the doctor after he turned 40 to undergo a physical for the first time since his playing days. The Hall of Fame guard had been experiencing cramps and slow urination.

Wade underwent a full-body scan that showed a potential cyst/tumor on one of his kidneys.

"They were able to see something that was on ... my right kidney when I went in. I didn't go in for my kidneys," Wade said. "And so what I had on my kidney was a cyst, a tumor. But it was not nothing that could be biopsied. It was not nothing that they can test unless they went in and surgically removed it."

Wade consulted multiple doctors to confirm his cancer diagnosis before undergoing surgery, which required removing 40% of his right kidney.

"I had a personal decision to make. ... 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," Wade said. "I made the decision to have surgery. I had surgery on Dec. 18, 2023."

Wade added: "To find out - obviously at 41 years old, pretty healthy guy - that I did have cancer, thank God that I did do the surgery because the tumor was cancerous."

Wade played 15 of his 16 NBA seasons for the Heat, leading the franchise to three NBA championships. He was a 13-time All-Star and eight-time All-NBA selection.

Wade remains Miami's all-time leader in several categories, including points, assists, steals, and games played. The Heat retired Wade's No. 3 in 2020.