Deion Sanders, the University of Colorado’s head football coach, talked about his treatment for an aggressive form of bladder cancer for the first time publicly at a news conference Monday.
Sporting a cowboy hat and shades, the 57-year-old NFL Hall of Famer said he underwent surgery to remove his bladder this year after doctors discovered a high-grade tumor.
Treating the disease within his bladder would have required a long series of interventions, and Sanders, who was named the Buffaloes’ head coach in 2022, said he wanted to prioritize his commitments to his family and team. “I didn’t want to be running down to the hospital once a week,” he said.
One of his doctors, Janet Kukreja, director of urological oncology at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, said Monday that they decided to perform a full robot-assisted laparoscopic bladder removal and create a new bladder for him.
“I am pleased to report that the results from the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,” Kukreja said.
Sanders, who will return to the field this fall, said he “always knew I was going to coach again.”
Here’s what to know about bladder cancer, the 10th-leading cause of cancer death in the United States.
Bladder cancer occurs when there is an abnormal growth of cells in the bladder, according to the National Cancer Institute. Located in the lower abdomen, the bladder’s primary functions are the storage and release of urine. The incidence rate of bladder cancer is four times higher in men than in women, according to the American Cancer Society.
Almost all bladder cancers are urothelial carcinoma, also known as transitional cell carcinoma, which begins in the cells that line the urethra, bladder, ureters, renal pelvis and other organs, according to the National Cancer Institute.
The five-year relative survival rate for bladder cancer is 79 percent, the institute says, but that figure drops to 9 percent if the cancer has spread to distant areas of the body such as the liver or lungs.
There are several avenues for treating bladder cancer. Some patients undergo intravesical chemotherapy, in which chemotherapy drugs are administered through the urethra. Others, like Sanders, can have a robot-assisted cystectomy, a minimally invasive surgery in which robotic instruments are inserted through incisions in the abdomen and a portion or the entire bladder is removed, according to the Cleveland Clinic.
“Robotic pelvic surgery is increasingly common in urology,” Alex W. Pastuszak, a professor of surgery and urology at the University of Utah School of Medicine, said in an email, and it can result in less blood loss and wound complications.
“However, robotic surgery has not been definitively proven to be superior to open surgery,” Pastuszak added, advising that patients should “also understand that surgeon selection and experiences are incredibly important.”
The most common symptom of early-stage bladder cancer is blood in the urine, which may be accompanied by frequent or painful urination, according to the National Cancer Institute. In advanced cases, symptoms may include difficulty urinating, lower back pain on one side, abdominal or bone pain, and loss of appetite. Fatigue and foot swelling may also occur, the institute says.
Men are at a higher risk. This year, the National Cancer Institute estimates, there will be nearly 85,000 new cases of bladder cancer — with more than 65,000 affecting men. Nearly 73 percent of deaths from bladder cancer in 2025 are expected to occur among men, according to the institute’s estimates.
Experts say smoking, especially cigarettes, is the biggest risk factor for bladder cancer. Those working in environments with exposure to chemicals, such as metal workers, miners or firefighters, as well as those born with a bladder defect, may also be at an increased risk.
