OAN Staff Blake Wolf
2:03 PM – Monday, July 28, 2025
Colorado University football head coach Deion Sanders disclosed on Monday that he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bladder cancer over the offseason, and had to get his bladder surgically removed altogether.
Sanders held a press conference with medical officials to address his off-season health issues.
“Man, everybody, get checked out. Because if it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled up on this,” he stated. “Make sure you get the right care because without wonderful people like this, I wouldn’t be sitting here today because it grew so expeditiously. But please get yourself checked.”
Advertisement“Slowly but surely, I’ve built myself back up to where I’m able, I’m strong, I’m ready. I’m still probably about 12 pounds down, Ima’ get that right, I’m gonna fill these overalls up like no other. But it has been a tremendous journey and I’m truly thankful that God is so good. God is so good, you have no idea,” Sanders continued, getting emotional as he spoke on his recovery. “You have no idea how good God has been to me, for me to be here.”
The health issue forced Sanders to miss some of the team’s offseason activities.
Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold and Dr. Janet Kukreja explained the process of diagnosing and removing the tumor.
Askevold revealed that Sanders underwent an ACT scan of his vascular pattern to check on his blood clots, which has forced Sanders to get surgery in the past. In 2021, two of Sanders’s toes on his left foot were amputated due to blood clots.
Askevold went on to explain that Sanders’s initial tests did not raise any alarms. However, Sanders’s primary care doctor suggested he see a urologist, which is when Kukreja found the tumor.
“We proceeded with the removal of the bladder tumor. We removed the tumor. It was very high grade, invading through the bladder wall, not into the muscle layer, something we call high-risk non-invasive bladder cancer,” Kukreja stated at the press conference.
“I am pleased to report that the results of the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,” she added.
Additionally, Sanders also released a video from May, as his son Deion Sanders Jr. documented his father’s health journey.
“I don’t know if I’m ready mentally, emotionally,” Sanders stated at the time. “Last night was tough, yesterday was tough because I had to make a will. That’s not easy at all, to think that you might not be here.”
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