Deion Sanders has announced that he’s cancer-free.
In an interview with the Associated Press, the Colorado football coach shared the details of his recovery a year after surgery.
“I consider myself cancer-free,” Sanders said.
He underwent “robotic surgery that also reconstructed his bladder using part of his intestine.” The innovative procedure is less invasive than traditional open surgeries. It also requires less time in the hospital and speeds up recovery.
“I was fighting” last year at this time, Sanders recalled. “And 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.”
Because of his diagnosis, Sanders missed his team’s football camps last summer in Boulder as he sought treatment.
During a routine checkup last spring, a CT scan revealed a mass on Sanders’ bladder. He was referred to UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, where he was treated by Dr. Janet Kukreja, the CU Cancer Center’s director of urologic oncology.
“If I pull my shirt up, I’m not scared; it’s not flawed. I’m not embarrassed by anything that transpired,” said Sanders. “I’m elated by everything that transpired.”
While the tumor didn’t invade the muscle layer in his bladder, it was considered a “very high risk.” There was a 50-50 chance of cancer recurring post-treatments.
THE RADICAL CYSTECTOMY
Performed by Kukreja, the radical cystectomy entailed robotic reconstruction of the organ where a section of intestine functions 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.”
Sanders described the procedure as a “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 to 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: time. We never know how much we get.”