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NFL Hall of Famer and Colorado football head coach Deion Sanders answered questions about his physical well-being after his battle with bladder cancer earlier this year.
“I’m healthy, I’m vibrant,” the Colorado coach said Friday at the school’s media day. “I’m my old self.”
Sanders said he’s walking at least a mile around campus every day after practice. Sanders, who turns 58 Saturday, was away from the team over the summer.
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Head coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado speaks about his journey beating bladder cancer during a press conference at the Touchdown Club at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., July 28, 2025. (AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post)
“I’m loving life right now,” he said. “I’m trying my best to live it to the fullest, considering what transpired.”
Sanders announced in late July he had to have his bladder removed after he was diagnosed with cancer in the offseason.
“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,” he said at a press conference last month. “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.”
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Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold and Dr. Janet Kukreja of UC Health broke down the timeline of Sanders’ diagnosis and surgery.
Askevold said Sanders had an ACT scan of his vascular pattern to check on whether his blood clots were gone. She said everything was fine from a vascular standpoint until Sanders’ primary care doctor wanted to refer the coach to a urologist. The doctor conducted a procedure and then referred him to Kukreja, the director of urological oncology at UC Health.
Colorado head coach Deion Sanders speaks with the media during 2025 Big 12 Football Media Days at The Star. (Raymond Carlin III/Imagn Images)
Sanders’ primary care doctor said the coach had a bladder tumor, according to Askevold.
“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,” Kukreja explained.
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Kukreja said they discussed a few options, but Sanders elected to undergo bladder removal and the creation of a new bladder.
“I am pleased to report that the results of the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,” she said.
Sanders sounded the alarm on his health issues over the course of the last few months.
Head coach Deion Sanders of the University of Colorado speaks about his journey beating bladder cancer during a press conference at the Touchdown Club at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colo., July 28, 2025. (Getty Images)
He revealed in a video posted by son Deion Sanders Jr. Sunday that he drew up a will amid concerns about his health. The video was shot May 9.
“Mentally, emotionally, last night was tough, yesterday was tough, because I had to make a will. That’s not easy at all, to think that you may not be here,” he said in the video.
Sanders took the Colorado job before the start of the 2023 season, and he brought his sons, Shedeur and Shilo, and Travis Hunter with him from Jackson State.
The 2024 season was the most successful year out of the two that Coach Prime had. Hunter won the Heisman Trophy as a dual-position player, while the Buffaloes finished 9-4 and played in the Alamo Bowl.
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