Colorado Buffaloes coach Deion Sanders revealed that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer and has since had surgery to cure the disease.
Sanders, 58, revealed the news Monday and joked that he now uses Depends, the absorbent underwear brand. Sanders, dressed in a cowboy hat and a pair of sunglasses, told reporters he dropped 25 pounds as he battled the disease and encouraged everybody to “get checked out.”
“I depend on Depends, if you know what I mean,” Sanders quipped as the room laughed. “I truly depend on Depends. I cannot control my bladder.”
"If you see a Porta-Potty on the sideline, it’s real,” he added. “I'm just telling you right now, you're going to see it."
Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at UCHealth, told reporters Sanders had surgery to remove his bladder and create a new one. Sanders’s cancer is now cured, Kukreja said as the room applauded.
“We’re lucky to have found it at this stage where I could still say the word cure, because I don’t use that word lightly as a cancer doctor,” she said.
The news comes as Sanders enters his third season as the team’s head coach. The coach kept his diagnosis close to his chest and noted he’s “thankful” that the news didn’t leak. Sanders particularly wanted to keep the news from two of his sons — Shedeur and Shilo Sanders — as they prepared for the NFL draft earlier this year.
“My sons, to this day, don't know what transpired,” Sanders revealed. “I just told them something with my foot again, because I wanted them to focus on making the team and not focused on Dad.”
“They really don't know, my daughters do know,” Sanders added. “And this joker right here, much love to my son, Junior, who have not left my side since we found out what was taking place, not one day. He has been with me here, been with me in Texas, been with me everywhere, everyday.”
Sanders’s physicians caught his bladder cancer after he went in for a routine CT scan to check for blood clots. He encouraged others to see their doctors regularly, noting he “probably wouldn’t be sitting here today” without his medical team.
“If it wasn't for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn't have stumbled upon this,” he said. “Make sure you go to get the right care.”
Team trainer Lauren Askevold said Sanders “never folded one time and never wavered.”
“You couldn't ask for a better patient because he wants to get up and get going right,” she said. “So it's been awesome. It's been a hectic journey, but there's a blessing in disguise with all this."
Sanders paused and clasped his hands as he told reporters that he’s grateful for his recovery.
“It has been a tremendous journey, and I'm truly thankful that God is so good,” he said. “God is so good. You have no idea.”
