Colorado coach Deion Sanders announced Monday that he was diagnosed with bladder cancer earlier this year.
Sanders held a news conference to reveal the news as Colorado embarks on fall camp ahead of the 2025 season. Dr. Janet Kukreja, Sanders’ doctor, said that Sanders had his bladder removed after a malignant tumor was found and that he had been “cured” from the cancer.
“The process wasn’t easy,” Sanders said as he said doctors presented him with multiple options to deal with the cancer.
Sanders said that he knew he had surgery upcoming for the tumor as his son Shedeur Sanders dealt with a rough draft weekend after he fell from a possible first-round NFL Draft pick to the fifth round.
“There was some scenes you saw, all the bull junk that’s transpired on draft day,” Sanders said. “It wasn’t just that. It was just, I knew as well I had a surgery coming up. My sons, to this day, don’t know what transpired, I just told them it was something with my foot, because I wanted to give them the focus on making the team and not focused on dad.”
The Pro Football Hall of Famer had been away from the team and at his home in Texas after spring practice to deal with health issues. He appeared at Big 12 media days earlier in July and declined to answer questions about his health while at the podium during his appearance there.
Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold said that the cancer discovery began after Sanders went through his routine vascular tests. The training staff received a call from his primary care doctor after the vascular tests, and the process of setting up a visit with a urologist and diagnosing what was going on began.
Sanders detailed what he’s gone through since the surgery and said that he “can’t pee like I used to pee. It’s totally different.” He also said that he had lost 25 pounds at one point.
“I depend on Depend if you know what I mean,” Sanders said. “I cannot control my bladder. So I get up to go to the bathroom already 4-5 times a night. And I’m sitting there waking up like my grandson. We in the same thing. We got the same problem right now. We’re going through the same trials and tribulations.”
Sanders said that fans will likely see a portable toilet on the sidelines of Colorado games this fall and said he wanted to serve as an example for people who may also be going through similar cancer diagnoses.
“It’s just totally different and I know there’s a lot of people out there going through what I am going through and dealing with what I am dealing with and let’s stop being ashamed of it and let’s deal with it. And let’s deal with it head on.”
Sanders’ news conference came after he posted to social media that he had recently completed his will. He said he informed his coaching staff and his team of the cancer diagnosis on Sunday.
“You don’t want to be a fool and leave and not have your business affairs in order,” Sanders said.
