Once one of the greatest two-sport professional athletes in history, Deion Sanders announced that he is cancer free on Monday.
Formerly known as “Prime Time” in his NFL and MLB days, the University of Colorado football head coach had his bladder removed amid treatment for bladder cancer. Sanders, 57, will coach the Buffaloes this upcoming season after an offseason where he quietly underwent treatment for a condition that was discovered during his regular vascular checkup.
Sanders’ oncologist, Dr. Janet Kukreja, recommended him to have the bladder removed because of the high metastasis risk, and Sanders had part of his intestine reconstructed to replace the bladder function. Kukreja is the director of urologic oncology for the CU Cancer Center.
“The bad side of this cancer is that if it does progress to the muscle, the rate of metastasis is about 50 percent,” Kukreja told reporters on Monday. “Only about 10 percent of people live more than five years, even with our current medical treatment, if it metastasized. We’re very lucky to have found it at this stage where I can say the word ‘cure’ because I don’t use that word lightly as a cancer doctor.”
“I wasn’t going to be running down to the hospital once a week with all this on my plate,” Sanders said. “I was like, ‘Okay, can they bring one of the machines and put them in the office?’ Doctor would look at me like, ‘He is crazy... is he like this when he coaches?’ But we worked it out.”
Sanders committed another five seasons to the Buffaloes in March with a five-year contract extension. Colorado team trainer Lauren Askevold has seen firsthand how Sanders has kept going despite the challenges.
“He never folded one time and never wavered,” Askevold told reporters. “You couldn’t ask for a better patient. He wants to get up and get going right. So it’s been awesome. It’s been a hectic journey but there’s a blessing very in disguise with all this.”
Sanders has shown a sense of humor along the way, as evidenced by his comments during Monday’s press conference. He joked that he lost around 25 pounds and was “like Atlanta Falcons Prime at one point” in his treatment.
“Dealing with the catheter, I’m going to be transparent—I can’t pee like I used to pee. It’s very different,” Sanders admitted. “I truly depend on Depends. I cannot control my bladder. If you see a porta-potty on the sideline, it’s real.”
Known as “Prime Time” in his playing days, Sanders was a dangerous defensive back for the Falcons from 1989 to 1993, and he later won Super Bowls with the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys. As an MLB player, Sanders started off with the New York Yankees in 1989 before stints with the Atlanta Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and San Francisco Giants.
Despite his athletic prowess, life after professional sports has offered its share of health challenges for Sanders before his recent cancer battle. Sanders had 14 surgeries done, and many were due to blood clot issues in his legs. He had two toes amputated in 2021 and an emergency surgery for blood clotting in his legs.
“Let me add this for all you people that get upset when I start talking about the Lord: I never once through this whole journey said, ‘God, why me?’ Because I would have to also say, ‘God, why did you give me the position of the head coach of this prestigious University? Why do you allow me to father five wonderful kids? Why do you give me these relationships with these wonderful people? Why me, Lord?’ I can never say the other side because I am going to have to ask that,” Sanders said.
“And there are some people out there right now dealing with the same issue, impacted by the ‘C’ word,” he continued. “When we hear that word, usually there is a life sentence attached to it. But not this time because God got me. And I don’t take it for granted. I don’t want you to take it for granted because it is real.”
Sanders begins his third season at the helm for the Buffaloes after a 9–4 campaign in 2024. It will be a new era for him as his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, have moved on from college to play in the NFL.
