Colorado football coach Deion Sanders addressed his health issues Monday during a news conference, acknowledging that he’d kept the worst of it a secret, not even informing his sons or his team.
Sanders said he had his bladder removed in May to address a cancerous tumor. His scan looked normal from the vascular side, he said, but a visit to Janet Kukreja, Sanders’ doctor at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, revealed the tumor.
Sanders, 57, opted for a bladder removal and creation of a new bladder to remove the cancer from the organ. He said he was fortunate and urged others not to delay getting medical attention when symptoms occur.
“Let’s stop being ashamed of it,” he said he decided. “Let’s deal with it. Let’s deal with it head on.
“This wasn’t easy. Everyone, get checked out. Because if it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled upon this. …. This could have been a whole other gathering if I hadn’t. It’s been tough. I think I dropped about 25 pounds.”
He said urinating is, well, different now.
“I can’t pee like I used to pee,” he said. “I depend on Depends, if you know what I mean.”
Sanders said he has returned to coaching, and smiled when he said folks shouldn’t be surprised if they see a portable toilet on the sidelines during games this fall.
Sanders had been absent for several months, and he lauded his coaching staff for picking up the slack and not asking too many questions. He has long had blood circulation issues in his legs that led to the amputation of two toes and several surgeries since 2021.
“Thank God the [coaches] are good enough that I don’t have to babysit,” Sanders said. “They didn’t know. They found out yesterday like the rest of the team. The team that didn’t disclose this to anyone.”
