Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was quite candid and vulnerable Monday, as he detailed his offseason health battle in a press conference. Sanders, 57, who spent time away from the program with an ailment that was kept under wraps, revealed that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and ...
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders was quite candid and vulnerable Monday, as he detailed his offseason health battle in a press conference.
Sanders, 57, who spent time away from the program with an ailment that was kept under wraps, revealed that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer and underwent surgery. Thankfully, Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at University of Colorado Cancer Center, who participated in the media briefing with Sanders, said the coach is "cured" after having his bladder removed.
Throughout the event, Sanders repeatedly expressed his gratefulness for his doctors and thanked God. He also had an important message to anyone watching at home: go to the doctor and get checked.
"Men, everybody, get checked out. Because if it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled up on this," Sanders said. "Make sure you get the right care because without wonderful people like this, I wouldn’t be sitting here today because it grew so expeditiously. But please get yourself checked."
Sanders added that if he hadn't been diligent about getting examined, it "could have been a whole other gathering" today.
Sanders had to have his bladder removed because the type of cancer he was dealing with had a high recurrence rate, Kukreja said.
"We proceeded with the removal of the bladder tumor. We removed the tumor. It was very high grade, invading through the bladder wall, not into the muscle layer, something we call high-risk non-invasive bladder cancer," she explained.
Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold also said Sanders had a standard ACT scan of his vascular pattern due to his history of blood clots. Everything was fine vascular-wise, but after this test, Sanders’ primary care doctor referred the coach to a urologist.
"I didn't have any signs," Sanders added.
Moving forward, Sanders said he is fully "back" and ready to lead the Buffaloes onto the field this season, starting with the opener against Georgia Tech on Aug. 29.
Deion Sanders Shared Urgent Health Message During Press Conference first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 28, 2025
Category: General Sports
