Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders faces a difficult road with his neobladder, where he'll have to reimagine his lifestyle completely.
Colorado Buffaloes football coach Deion Sanders announced on Monday that he beat bladder cancer after almost losing his life in May.
While Coach Prime was able to overcome death, he now faces a new challenge: dealing with his “neobladder.”
“After Sanders’ cancerous bladder was removed in surgery, a new one was made for him from his small intestine. This is called a neobladder. It’s different from having a catheter emptying urine into an external bag, though patients with new neobladders do use catheters and bags while the neobladder heals, as Sanders did,” USA Today’s Brent Schrotenboer wrote.
Solomon Woldu, associate professor of urology at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, explained how difficult going to the bathroom will be for Sanders moving forward.
“(A neobladder) has the advantage of not requiring an external appliance, as patients urinate through their native urethra,” Woldu said.
“Instead patients have to learn to empty their neobladder by using abdominal muscles to generate sufficient pressure on the neobladder to push the urine out. Some patients will not be able to this efficiently and need to catheterize.”
Coach Prime is making the most of the situation, having inked a sponsorship deal with Depend. Sanders joked that he depends on Depend, and was very serious in revealing that there will be a porta-potty on the sidelines at Folsom Field and elsewhere during the 2025 season.
Still, he’s facing a battle most wouldn’t be laughing at and joking about with grace and a smile.
Category: General Sports
