A year after undergoing surgery to remove his cancerous bladder, Deion Sanders is not only feeling younger and better, but he says he’s now living without cancer.
Sanders, 58, told The Associated Press, “I consider myself cancer-free.”
Last year, he underwent a procedure that reconstructed his bladder with the use of one of his intestines via the da Vinci Surgical System, which is less invasive than other surgeries and aims to cut down on hospital stays and recovery.
“I was fighting” last year at this time, Sanders said. “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.”
Previously, Sanders told “Good Morning America” that early detection was key in finding the cancer and opting for surgery. Over the last three years, the Pro Football Hall of Famer has undergone 16 different surgeries on his bladder and feet. Still, he doesn’t feel ashamed to show his scars or his journey.
“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,” he said.
Doctors found a malignant tumor in his bladder around last spring during a CT scan, and it was considered “very high risk,” despite not having reached the muscle layer of the bladder. After undergoing the revolutionary surgery, Sanders said it put him back to a sense of “normalcy.”
“It got me back in the game,” he said. “Got me back on my feet and got me out of the darn hospital and back into the normalcy of my life. I’m here to let people know there’s another option if you need surgery.”
He added, “I’d be a fool to be blessed the way I was blessed and not sound alarms,” Sanders said. “When I opened up a club years ago, I went to the mountaintop and told all the stations, ‘Come on to the nightclub.’ So, why wouldn’t I do this? Saved me time so I could get back on the field, get back on my game instead of sitting up there in the hospital having a pity party. It saves you time. That’s what we’re all fighting for is time. We never know how much we get.”
