Colorado coach Deion Sanders proclaims himself 'cancer-free' - ESPN

BOULDER, Colo. — Deion «Coach Prime» Sanders said he feels like his old — and younger — self again a year after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous bladder.

«I consider myself cancer-free,» thanks to robotic surgery that also reconstructed the bladder using part of an intestine, Sanders told The Associated Press after getting a tutorial in the surgical system that was used in his operation.

This being Men's Health Awareness Month, the University of Colorado football coach wanted to get a firsthand look at the Intuitive Da Vinci robotic system, which is less invasive than open surgeries and cuts down on hospital stays and speeds recoveries.

«I was fighting» last year at this time, Sanders recalled. «I was walking out on the property with a bag of blood and also urine and trying to get back. But this expedited the process. Last year at this time, I was in a whole different place, and I'm just thankful.»

Sanders missed football camps last summer in Boulder as he went through cancer treatments. The Buffaloes finished with a 3-9 mark a year after making a bowl game behind Shedeur Sanders and Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter.

This summer, he appears much fitter and more energetic as he oversees offseason training.

«If I pull my shirt up, I'm not scarred. It's not flawed. I'm not embarrassed by anything that transpired. I'm elated by everything that transpired,» Sanders said.

At a routine checkup last spring, a CT scan showed a mass on Sanders' bladder. He was referred to the University of Colorado Anschutz, where he met Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at the CU Cancer Center and UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital.

Sanders, who turns 59 later this summer, was diagnosed with a malignant tumor.