Dwyane Wade Discovered His Cancer via a Full-Body MRI Scan—But, Does That Mean You Need to Get One, Too?

Former NBA basketball player and Miami Heat legend Dwyane Wade shocked fans when he revealed in January that he had undergone surgery in 2023 to treat kidney cancer. Now, the NBA Hall of Famer told Today that his cancer was originally detected after he had a full-body MRI scan—despite feeling “pretty healthy” overall.

The 43-year-old shared that he told his healthcare provider, during a check-up, that he was having some stomach pain and a “slow stream” when he urinated. “I didn’t think nothing of it. And so once I finally went in, I was like, ‘OK, I just want to know everything,’” he said. 

Wade’s healthcare provider ordered a full-body MRI scan, which detected “something on my kidneys,” he said. “I didn’t go in for my kidneys. I went in to check what was going on my stomach and my prostate,” he added. A second follow-up MRI showed a suspicious mass on his kidney.

Wade eventually had surgery to remove the mass, which also led to surgeons removing 40 percent of his kidney. Once the mass was analyzed, he was diagnosed with stage 1 cancer. Since the surgery, Wade is now cancer-free. "Thank God that we caught it early," he said. "This wasn’t something that was able to grow. It was about 3 centimeters on my kidney."

But Wade’s story is raising a lot of questions about the need for full-body MRIs, a form of testing promoted by several celebrities lately, including Cindy Crawford and Kim Kardashian. Here’s the thing: Full-body MRIs are only recommended under very specific circumstances, according to Richard Reitherman, MD, PhD, a radiologist and medical director of breast imaging at MemorialCare Breast Center at Orange Coast Medical Center in Fountain Valley, California. 

But should we all be getting full-body MRI scans? Here’s what our experts want you to know. 

Do you *actually* need a full-body MRI scan?

While full-body MRI scans have the potential to pick up certain concerning findings, these are only recommended under very specific circumstances. “A full-body MRI is only approved for high-risk, specific genetic disease, which is really rare,” Dr. Reitherman says. “That does not include abdominal pain," he adds in response to Wade getting his MRI scan done after complaints of stomach pain.

Dr. Reitherman also stresses that there is “no [official] medical recommendation for a full-body MRI at this time for any symptoms.”

It's also worth noting that having a full-body MRI scan completed outside of the recommended use means that it’s unlikely to be covered by health insurance, points out James Ryan Mark, MD, FACS, associate professor in the Department of Urology at Fox Chase Cancer Center Temple Health. As a result, this isn’t something that’s accessible or affordable for the average person. 

“These MRIs, for the average individual, are going to be more expensive than needed,” Dr. Mark says. He adds that there are "other, cheaper tests" available should your healthcare team need to order additional diagnostics for you.

The pros and cons of getting a full-body MRI scan

There are a few potential pros to getting a full-body MRI scan, that is, if you can comfortably afford it. One benefit is that the scan could spot something happening in your body that you wouldn’t otherwise know about, like a potential mass, such as in Wade's case. A health condition like kidney cancer is tricky to pick up in the early stages, which is where a full-body MRI might be useful, Dr. Mark says.

However, he stresses it’s not usually the best option. “Most kidney cancers are found incidentally—you had a scan for some other reason, and this got picked up,” he says. But in people with a family history of kidney cancer, he’ll often do an ultrasound to see if there are concerning signs in their kidneys. “Ultrasounds are very good at picking up kidney tumors,” he says, adding that they’re also much cheaper than a full-body MRI.

Contrary to popular belief, MRIs do not expose you to radiation like you would if you underwent an X-ray or CT scan. However, there are some downsides to consider. 

“The biggest harm is that people having the test think they’re OK if the test is negative. But the science isn’t there to back it up,” Dr. Reitherman explains. He points out that these full-body scans won’t detect breast cancer, which is the most common cancer in women, right behind skin cancer. (MRIs can be used to detect breast cancer, but it requires certain elements that are not typically used in a full-body MRI scan, according to Dr. Reitherman.) “Women might think that they don’t have breast cancer if they have a full-body scan, but that’s not correct,” he adds. 

People who get the all-clear after having a full-body MRI scan may also assume that they don’t need other tests or screenings, and as a result, they skip additional diagnostic exams, Dr. Reitherman says. “That, to me, is the biggest risk,” he adds. 

There’s also the chance that someone can be subjected to unnecessary testing if something is detected on a full-body MRI that turns out to be benign (aka harmless), Dr. Mark says. “There is a risk of going down the rabbit hole of getting poked and prodded,” he says. 

Overall, Dr. Reitherman says that the buzz surrounding full-body MRIs has “created confusion” with the general public about when these are actually needed. “MRIs are definitely useful, but not for general screening,” he says. 

The bottom line

Overall, healthcare providers advise doing what you can to be on top of cancer screenings that are recommended for you. Those are still the best and most effective ways of detecting cancer, Dr. Mark says. “Melanoma, for example, is not going to show up on MRI,” he says. 

But if you’re having concerning symptoms, Dr. Reitherman says it’s important to get them checked out by a healthcare provider. “If you’re symptomatic, there are clear, recommended medical work-ups in place that can help,” he says. They can order the proper diagnostic exams and recommend treatment options, should they be necessary for you.