For the second time in three years, Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders received a diagnosis for a disease usually linked to smoking. But the former NFL and MLB athlete has never smoked.
Most recently, he told the world that his latest health crisis was bladder cancer. And his doctor was blunt and bleak as she described the head football coach of the University of Colorado-Boulder’s disease. Aggressive. High risk. Low survival rate past five years – if they hadn’t found it in time.
But they did. Sanders is cancer-free. And he’s unabashedly certain why he contracted the disease, and why he survived: to urge regular physicals.
“I am on assignment and in alignment with where I am supposed to be,” he said during the press conference where he, his oncologist and a Colorado colleague detailed his diagnosis, surgery and challenging recovery.
“I don’t mind going through the afflictions I go through. We’re helping some folks today. It’s some folks right now calling the doctor scheduling checkups. It’s some wives out there saying, ‘Baby, I told you.’ It’s some whosoever wills that ain’t been to see a doctor in years, but they’re going to go get a check up because if it can happen to Prime, baby, it could happen to you,” said Sanders, who played professional football and baseball concurrently for nine seasons.
Blood in the urine is the most common symptom of bladder cancer, said Dr. Janet Kukreja, Sanders’ surgeon. According to the American Cancer Society, other signals include:
- Urinating frequently
- Experiencing burning or pain during urination
- Producing a weak urine stream or having difficulty urinating
- Feeling the urge to urinate immediately even when your bladder isn’t full, and
- Getting up many times during the night to urinate
Those situations can be indicative of other conditions, and anyone experiencing them should consult their primary care physician.
“I didn’t have any signs, none whatsoever. I wasn’t on any chart or any list” of risk factors, Sanders said. That disclosure amplified his earlier instruction. “Men, everybody, get checked out. Because if it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled upon this.”
Bladder cancer is not one of the diseases for which physicians recommend regular screenings, but regular physicals and vigilance about changes in your body can provide early detection and warning signs.
In 2022, doctors diagnosed Sanders with chronic vascular disease. Consequently, he must undergo regular medical assessments for that condition in which arteries and veins are weak, blocked or narrowed and impede blood flow. During one of those checkups, imaging showed a tumor on Sanders’ bladder.
“The bad side of this cancer is that if it does progress to the muscle, the rate of metastasis is about 50%,” Kukreja said. “Only about 10% of people live five years even with our current medical treatment if it metastasized. So very lucky to find it at this stage, where it was still where I could say the word ‘cured.’ I don’t use that word lightly as a cancer doctor. And there are a lot of patients where we don’t have that same conversation.”
“I’m thankful for the checkup,” he said. “So I’m telling you all again, please, get checkups. Please go get checkups.”
Within a month of learning about the tumor, Sanders chose to have his bladder removed. He has a neobladder constructed from part of his small intestine. One of the risks of that replacement bladder is incontinence, and Sanders joked repeatedly about his struggles and the lifestyle changes.
He joked about trying to find solutions on his own for the lack of bladder control. He bought underwear online that was supposed to capture his urine at night. “They didn’t do a good job,” he chuckled. “Now my housekeeper’s gotta come and change the sheets every day.”
He quipped about him and his infant grandson having an unofficial contest about who fills a bag with the most diapers overnight. You can view the full interview and Sanders’ candid account of his struggle with bladder control here.
“I depend on Depends,” he said about the adult incontinence garment. “I truly depend on Depends. I cannot control my bladder…I’m making a joke out of it, but it’s real. If you see a porta-potty on the sideline, it’s real.”
“I know its a lot of people going through what I am going through and dealing with what I am dealing with,” the coach said. “Let’s stop being ashamed of it, and let’s deal with it head-on.
Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men, Kukreja said. The American Cancer Society estimates that there will be almost 85,000 cases of the disease diagnosed this year and more than 17,000 deaths.
The condition is more common in men. The National Foundation for Cancer Research reports the disease is two times more prevalent in white males than in black men. And the average age for people who have bladder cancer is 73, according to that research organization.
Too young. Never a smoker. Physically fit. Black. None of Sanders’ demographic details or lifestyle habits put him at risk for bladder cancer. So, he’s emphatic about bellowing his message from his national platform.
“Get yourself checked out, especially African American men. We don’t like going to the doctor. We don’t like nothing to do with a doctor,” he said. “Get checked out! This could have been a whole other gathering if I hadn’t.”
