{"id":2997,"date":"2026-06-29T22:05:17","date_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:05:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2997"},"modified":"2026-06-29T22:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T22:05:17","slug":"deion-sanders-says-he-feels-like-his-old-self-a-year-after-surgery-i-consider-myself-cancer-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2997","title":{"rendered":"Deion Sanders says he feels like his old self a year after surgery: \u2018I consider myself cancer-free\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

BOULDER<\/strong> | Deion \u201cCoach Prime\u201d Sanders says he feels like his old \u2014 and younger \u2014 self again a year after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous bladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cI consider myself cancer-free,\u201d 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.<\/p>\n

This being Men\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was fighting\u201d last year at this time, Sanders recalled. \u201cI 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\u2019m just thankful.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

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.<\/p>\n

This summer he appears much fitter and energetic as he oversees offseason training.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I pull my shirt up, I\u2019m not scarred, it\u2019s not flawed. I\u2019m not embarrassed by anything that transpired. I\u2019m elated by everything that transpired,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n

At a routine checkup last spring, a CT scan showed a mass on Sanders\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

Sanders, who turns 59 later this summer, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor in his bladder. Although the tumor hadn\u2019t reached the muscle layer in his bladder, it was considered \u201cvery high risk,\u201d with a 50-50 chance of recurring or progressing after treatments.<\/p>\n

Kukreja is among the small group of surgeons in the U.S. who perform robotic removal of the entire cancerous bladder \u2014 called a radical cystectomy \u2014 and robotic reconstruction of the organ, which involves having a section of intestine function as a bladder.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d Sanders said. \u201cI\u2019m here to let people know there\u2019s another option if you need surgery.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called the robotic system his time machine.<\/p>\n

\u201dI\u2019d be a fool to be blessed the way I was blessed and not sound alarms,\u201d Sanders said. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhen 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\u2019t 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\u2019s what we\u2019re all fighting for is time. We never know how much we get.\u201d<\/p>\n

Football past and present<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sanders has spent time recently with his son Shedeur, who\u2019s entering his second year with the Cleveland Browns and who will compete for the starting job with Deshaun Watson in training camp.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s on vacation, but he\u2019s going to the hills in St. Croix right now doing gassers,\u201d Sanders said.<\/p>\n

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: \u201cI just want him to be happy. I can\u2019t tell those coaches how to coach and Travis what he\u2019s gifted to do. I just want him happy; that\u2019s all I want.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Julian \u201cJuJu\u201d Lewis, the Buffs\u2019 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the entire team is benefiting\u201d from lessons learned last year and new faces arriving this spring, Sanders said. \u201cI have the best coaching staff I\u2019ve ever featured. Everybody\u2019s unified. I just walked out of the weight room. They\u2019re lifting their butts off and they can\u2019t wait to go to camp. It\u2019s going to be phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Inside country legend Alan Jackson\u2019s triumphant finale concert<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more A new law could create a list of immigrants illegally living in Mississippi. Advocates are alarmed<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more Aurora Democratic primaries engulfed in claims of libelous, racists attack ads by outside money groups<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders says he feels like his younger self again after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous bladder last year.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2996,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1813],"tags":[4840,3953],"class_list":["post-2997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college","tag-colorado-football","tag-deion-sanders"],"yoast_head":"\nDeion Sanders says he feels like his old self a year after surgery: \u2018I consider myself cancer-free\u2019 - Denver Moving Chronicle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/denvermovingchronicle.com\/?p=2997\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Deion Sanders says he feels like his old self a year after surgery: \u2018I consider myself cancer-free\u2019 - 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