- Colorado football coach Deion Sanders had bladder cancer.
- Sanders had his bladder removed so he could get back to coaching without distractions.
- Coach Prime says he's God's messenger reminding people to take care of their health.
In a news conference this week discussing removal of his bladder due to cancer, University of Colorado football coach Deion Sanders made it clear he’s all-in on trusting God. He depends on him.
But he also “depends on Depends.”
Sanders, who is often called simply Coach Prime, is happy to talk about that, too.
He has a platform and a message: First and foremost, he said, “God is good. God is so good. You have no idea.” The other part is don’t put off going to the doctor.
In May, a checkup for a vascular problem in his foot led to the surprise discovery that Sanders had a bladder tumor, despite a complete absence of warning signs like bloody urine or urgency. After oncological surgeon Dr. Janet Kukreja went through his treatment options with him, Sanders decided to have his whole bladder removed laparoscopically and a doctor-made version created from part of his small intestine.
“It works a little differently, but does the job very well,” Kukreja said during the conference.
“I’m going to be transparent. I can’t pee like I used to pee. It’s totally different,” Sanders said, while making it clear that he’s OK with it — even grateful.
When he joked with Kukreja about beating cancer, she said firmly, “It’s beaten.”
Sanders told reporters he knew from the start he was on a God-given road. He describes himself as being “always all about the journey.” So he talked frankly about new physical challenges, but threw in a hefty dose of humor.
He joked that he wakes up just like his grandson does: wet. “We going through the same trials and tribulations. We kind of see who has the heaviest bag at the end of the night.”
And while he said he was making a joke, “If you see a porta-potty on the sideline (at a football game), it’s real. I’m just telling you right now, you’re gonna see it.”
A secret without self-pity
Sanders said he told two of his sons, who have been working hard at NFL training camps, that he was having surgery for something to do with his foot, so they would focus on making their teams, not worrying about their dad. His third son and his two daughters have been by his side through the surgery and recovery.
He also didn’t tell his team or most of the coaching staff, who he knew were perfectly capable of taking care of things while he was out. He didn’t want them or the players stressing. He wanted them focused on their own team workouts so the Buffaloes can contend for a championship.
The decision Sanders made to have the entire bladder cut out was about football, he added. “I didn’t want to be going weekly to the hospital when I know I got practices. My faith is No. 1; football is down the line somewhere behind my family,” but so important.
Plus, “it was never in my spirit, in my heart that God wouldn’t allow me to coach again.”
Of his team, he said, “I love these young men to life and I’m thankful that God chose me to coach them.”
He added, “I’m on assignment and I’m in alignment with where I was supposed to be. I’m not lost. I’m not here by mistake. God planted me in Boulder. ... I’m here and I’m thankful. I’m so happy about everything and especially this opportunity that I have to coach these young men.”
According to Sanders, he never felt self-pity or asked “why me” when faced with potentially deadly cancer. He said there are too many of those questions one could put to God in the other direction: Why did he get the position of football coach at a prestigious university? Why did God allow him five wonderful kids? Why was he given relationships with wonderful people?
Instead, he said, “Lord, whatever it is that you’re doing, let me know what it is so I could expedite the process. Because I know you got me. I’ve seen you have my back. I’ve seen you there in the midst of storms but nobody knew I was going through hell. I’ve seen you guide me through.”
Spreading the word
Sanders plans to talk about cancer and encourage others to do the same, noting everyone has a connection to cancer — their own, a relative’s, a friend’s. And he believes that people who see his press conference are “right now calling the doctors, scheduling checkups.”
He was asked about a video that showed his emotional side, taken as he was getting his last will and testament together.
“You don’t want to be a fool and leave and not have your business affairs in order,” Sanders responded, joking about ranking his kids. How much does Shilo deserve? What about Bossy, who left Colorado?
But urged to describe the emotions, he instead talked about being positive. As he talks to the media and gives individual interviews and recounts his cancer journey, he returns repeatedly to his love of God.
“You think I’m playing when I tell you I’m God’s guy. I really am. I’m allowed to go through these trials and tribulations to touch and reach and bless people with my words, with the energy, with that thing that God gave me, so I never thought about no death.”
The medical stuff
Kukreja said bladder cancer is the fourth-most common cancer in men. Early signs include blood in the urine, which should always be checked out.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that other symptoms include having to urinate often, pain while urinating, back pain and pelvic pain. Those are symptoms that can have many causes, so it’s important to see a doctor, which is the only way to find the cause.
Kukreja recommends that people have regular primary care visits, eat well and don’t smoke, which is heavily associated with bladder cancer.
But others who like Sanders never smoked can also get bladder cancer, she added.
That he had no symptoms and the whole span from diagnosis to surgery to a new bladder was relatively quick confirms in Sanders’ mind that he’s “just delivering a message.”
There are a lot of people who could use that message. The American Cancer Society reports that bladder cancer is more often seen in men than in women and that in 2025, roughly 84,870 new bladder cancer cases are expected. And more than 17,000 people in the U.S. will die because of bladder cancer.
Sanders pointed out that a lot of people are going through the same thing. He wants people to stop feeling ashamed or embarrassed and get checked, then deal with whatever’s found.
The use of part of his own small intestine means he will not risk rejecting the bladder or need to take immune-suppressing medicines.
Kukreja said Sanders has routine surveillance scans, which is protocol after bladder surgery. But no other treatment is foreseen.