06/29/26 02:06:00
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06/29 14:04 CDT Deion Sanders says he feels like his old self a year after
surgery: 'I consider myself cancer-free'
Deion Sanders says he feels like his old self a year after surgery: 'I consider
myself cancer-free'
By ARNIE STAPLETON
AP Pro Football Writer
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) --- Deion "Coach Prime" Sanders says he feels like his old
--- and younger --- self again a year after undergoing surgery to remove his
cancerous bladder.
"I consider myself cancer-free," thanks to robotic surgery that also
reconstructed his bladder using part of his intestine, Sanders told The
Associated Press after getting a tutorial in the surgical system that was used
in his operation.
This being Men's Health Awareness Month, the University of Colorado football
coach wanted to get a first-hand look at the Intuitive Da Vinci System, which
is less invasive than open surgeries and cuts down on hospital stays and speeds
recoveries.
"I was fighting" last year at this time, Sanders recalled. "I was walking out
on the property with a bag of blood and also urine and trying to get back. But
this expedited the process. Last year at this time I was in a whole different
place, and I'm just thankful."
Sanders missed football camps last summer in Boulder as he went through cancer
treatments. The Buffaloes finished with a 3-9 mark a year after making a bowl
game behind Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.
This summer he appears much fitter and energetic as he oversees offseason
training.
"If I pull my shirt up, I'm not scarred, it's not flawed. I'm not embarrassed
by anything that transpired. I'm elated by everything that transpired," Sanders
said.
At a routine checkup last spring, a CT scan showed a mass on Sanders' bladder.
He was referred to the University of Colorado Anschutz, where he met Dr. Janet
Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at the CU Cancer Center and UCHealth
University of Colorado Hospital.
Sanders, who turns 59 later this summer, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor
in his bladder. Although the tumor hadn't reached the muscle layer in his
bladder, it was considered "very high risk," with a 50-50 chance of recurring
or progressing after treatments.
Kukreja is among the small group of surgeons in the U.S. who perform robotic
removal of the entire cancerous bladder --- called a radical cystectomy --- and
robotic reconstruction of the organ, which involves having a section of
intestine function as a bladder.
"It got me back in the game, got me back on my feet and got me out of the darn
hospital and back into the normalcy of my life," Sanders said. "I'm here to let
people know there's another option if you need surgery."
He called the robotic system his time machine.
"I'd be a fool to be blessed the way I was blessed and not sound alarms,"
Sanders said. "When I opened up a club years ago I went to the mountaintop and
told all the stations come on to the nightclub. So, why wouldn't I do this?
Saved me time so I could get back on the field, get back on my game instead of
sitting up there in the hospital having a pity party. It saves you time. That's
what we're all fighting for is time. We never know how much we get."
Football past and present
Sanders has spent time recently with his son Shedeur, who's entering his second
year with the Cleveland Browns and who will compete for the starting job with
Deshaun Watson in training camp.
"He's on vacation, but he's going to the hills in St. Croix right now doing
gassers," Sanders said.
Asked what he thought about Hunter, entering his second season in Jacksonville,
possibly focusing on playing defensive back after pulling double duty as a DB
and wide receiver in college, Sanders said: "I just want him to be happy. I
can't tell those coaches how to coach and Travis what he's gifted to do. I just
want him happy; that's all I want."
As for Julian "JuJu" Lewis, the Buffs' starting quarterback and former
five-star recruit out of Carrollton, Georgia, who took over the starting role
as a freshman late last season, Sanders said those cameos will pay dividends in
2026.
"I think the entire team is benefiting" from lessons learned last year and new
faces arriving this spring, Sanders said. "I have the best coaching staff I've
ever featured. Everybody's unified. I just walked out of the weight room.
They're lifting their butts off and they can't wait to go to camp. It's going
to be phenomenal."
___
AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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