<p id=”par-1_65″>Actor <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gabrielle-union-named-husband-dwyane-wade-wasnt-good-ego.html/”>Gabrielle Union and athlete Dwayne Wade</a> have been together for 17 years. The <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/tag/actors/”>actor</a> and former NBA star tied the knot back in 2014, and the two share four children: three kids from Wade’s previous relationships, and one he and Union welcomed in 2018. The two have a rock-solid relationship, but Union recently revealed that Wade’s cancer diagnosis was difficult for the whole family.</p>
<p id=”par-2_33″>Back in 2023, Wade was diagnosed with kidney cancer, and while he is cancer-free today, Union said the family didn’t handle the news well “at all” when they first learned of Wade’s illness.</p>
<figure class=”wp-block-image size-full” id=”emb-1″><img decoding=”async” src=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gabrielle-Union-Dwyane-Wade-1.webp?strip=all&quality=80″ alt=”Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union” class=”wp-image-3783406″><figcaption class=”wp-element-caption”>Dwyane Wade and Gabrielle Union | Gotham/FilmMagic</figcaption></figure>
<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-gabrielle-union-revealed-the-shock-of-husband-dwyane-wade-s-cancer-diagnosis”>Gabrielle Union revealed the shock of husband Dwyane Wade’s cancer diagnosis</h2>
<p id=”par-3_65″>Back in 2023, Wade had surgery to remove 40% of his kidney after learning he had kidney cancer; however, Wade never shared the news with the public. Rather, he only went public with the information on January 30 during a podcast episode. On February 28, Union appeared on Sherri Shepherd’s talk show, where she opened up about what it was like when Wade was diagnosed.</p>
<p id=”par-4_47″>Shepherd asked how Union handled learning of her husband’s diagnosis. “Initially … Not well at all,” Union said. “You hear cancer … You think it to the worst-case scenario. I thought he was gonna be ripped out of my life … ripped out of our children’s lives.”</p>
<p id=”par-5_50″>Union went on to explain that it made “year nine” of their loving marriage very difficult. “When they say for better or worse, in sickness and in health … You will be a very prayerful person if you weren’t before,” she said of learning to deal with such difficult news.</p>
<p id=”par-6_48″>Now, though, Wade is cancer free, and even though he only recently opened up about it, Union said it has certainly <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gabrielle-union-blossoms-in-date-night-lbd-at-the-2024-paris-olympics.html/”>made their marriage even better</a> than it already was. “”It ultimately just brought us so close because we had to learn to be vulnerable with each other.”</p>
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<h2 class=”wp-block-heading” id=”h-dwyane-wade-learned-of-his-cancer-by-accident”>Dwyane Wade learned of his cancer by accident</h2>
<p id=”par-7_48″>Wade retired from the NBA back in 2019. While playing basketball, he regularly kept up with his doctors’ appointments and medical exams. However, once he retired, he admitted on the podcast that he got lazy about regularly going to the doctor and keeping up with his own health.</p>
<p id=”par-8_49″>Wade did explain to his doctor that he felt like his urine stream was weaker, and he was experiencing stomach aches. However, he only revealed this during a routine checkup. “I didn’t go in for my kidneys,” Wade said. “But because I did the full-body scan, they saw something.”</p>
<p id=”par-9_30″>A tumor was discovered on Wade’s kidney, and after undergoing surgery, Wade revealed the tumor was cancerous. <a href=”https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/gabrielle-union-devastated-dwyane-wade-fathering-a-child.html/”>Wade and Union’s relationship</a> is stronger now, and the two are doing well.</p>