Deion Sanders revealed on Monday that he was recently diagnosed with a form of cancer, but the Colorado coach underwent treatment that was successful.
Sanders announced in a press conference with his medical team that he has been battling bladder cancer. Doctors discovered a tumor on Sanders’ bladder and performed a surgical procedure where they removed his bladder and created a new one.
The procedure resulted in Sanders being “cured of the cancer,” according to one of his doctors.
Deion Sanders' medical team says the football coach was diagnosed with a cancerous bladder tumor and had surgery for it
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) July 28, 2025
“I am pleased to report that the results from the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer” pic.twitter.com/OD5MoNWcRP
Sanders urged people to get themselves checked regularly and said it “could have been a whole ‘nother gathering if I hadn’t.”
“Please get yourself checked out… because it could have been a whole other gathering if I hadn’t.”@DeionSanders shares a message to everyone during his health update press conference ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/QBi2v8Ri2L
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) July 28, 2025
Sanders had been away from the Colorado football team this offseason while dealing with what was, at the time, an undisclosed medical issue. The 57-year-old said recently that he was “still going through something” but on the road to recovery.
Sanders has dealt with a number of health issues in recent years. He had two toes amputated on his left foot in 2021 because of blood clots that developed after a surgery. Sanders said at one point doctors feared he might lose his entire leg.
In 2023, Sanders had to have an emergency surgery to address a different blood clot.
There was speculation that Sanders’ latest health condition had to do with his previous blood-clot issues, but it sounds as though the two issues were unrelated.
Sanders led Colorado to a 9-4 record in his second season last year after the Buffaloes finished 4-8 in 2023. He is expected to return to coaching the Buffaloes in the near future now that he has been declared cancer free.
