NFL legend and college football coach Deion Sanders is thanking the people who prayed for “God to intervene” for him while he fought an aggressive form of bladder cancer.
“I want to Thank everyone that prayed, thought of my journey & ask[ed] God to intervene. I appreciate u so much. Without prayer where would we be. Also thank u for your friendship your faithfulness & your spirit that exudes Peace,” he wrote Tuesday.
I want to Thank everyone that prayed, thought of my journey & ask God to intervene. I appreciate u so much. Without prayer where would we be. Also thank u for your friendship your faithfulness & your spirit that exudes Peace. #CoachPrime
— COACH PRIME (@DeionSanders) July 29, 2025
The message followed Sanders’ press conference Monday, where he shared his journey of overcoming aggressive bladder cancer alongside Colorado University medical officials who announced he is “cured” and can return to coaching this season.
As CBN News reported, Sanders responded to growing concerns about his health and hiatus from the University of Colorado football team’s summer camps last month.
“I can assure you all that everything is OKAY and will continue to be so. God got me like no other. I have so much more work to do to Glorify God so please believe God got me,” he wrote on X at the time. “I’m excited to get back to Colorado to be at home with my staff, team & all associated to our program. When we arrive back to Boulder, you will be updated on everything.”
Sanders fulfilled his promise by updating the public on his private health battle during a news conference before the Buffaloes’ fall camp in his third season as head coach.
“The ‘C’ word, when we hear that word, there’s normally a life sentence attached to it,” Sanders said. “But not this time. But not this time.”
He brought his medical team along to discuss the diagnosis.
Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at the CU Cancer Center/UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, and Colorado assistant athletic trainer Lauren Askevold broke down the timeline of Sanders’ diagnosis and treatment.
Askevold said Sanders was being screened during an ACT scan to determine whether his blood clots were gone. She noted everything was fine from a vascular standpoint until Sanders’ doctors asked him to follow-up with a urologist.
His primary doctor said the coach had a bladder 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 explained.
Kukreja explained at the press conference that there were other options, but Sanders chose to undergo bladder removal and the creation of a new bladder.
“I am pleased to report that the results of the surgery are that he is cured from the cancer,” she said.
Sanders remained lighthearted throughout the press conference but also admitted it has been a tough year.
“It was dynamic. It was tough. It wasn’t a cakewalk. It wasn’t easy,” said Sanders, getting choked up. “That was a fight, but we made it.”
He said he lost about 25 pounds during the process, and life looks different since the procedure, joking that he may need a “port-a-potty on the sideline” this season.
Sanders encouraged everyone to get regular check-ups.
“Men, everybody, get checked out. Because if it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled upon this,” he said. “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.”
The football coach told reporters that he never doubted that he would return to the sidelines this year.
“I always knew I was going to coach again. It was never in my spirit, in my heart, that God wouldn’t allow me to coach again,” he said. “I just didn’t want to be running down to the hospital once a week when I have all of this on my plate. I don’t want that. I was like, ‘OK, can they bring one of those machines and put them in the office?'”
In new released video posted on YouTube by “Well Off Media,” the production company that chronicles Sanders and the Buffaloes, revealed Sanders’ day heading into the operation and also the “toughest moment by far.”
In videos posted on July 28, Sanders said, “I don’t know if I’m ready mentally, emotionally. Last night was tough, yesterday was tough, because I had to make a will. That’s not easy at all, to think that you may not be here.”
The challenges Sanders is facing are not stopping him from sharing his faith.
The NFL legend posted to social media Monday that God’s love is unconditional.
“Let’s learn to LOVE like we may not get another opportunity to do so provided we choose the right people to LOVE! Love is so special it’s so unique & so real. God is LOVE & his LOVE is unconditional. Let’s stop judging, stop hating & Let LOVE have its way,” he wrote.
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