Two-time Super Bowl champion and University of Colorado coach Deion Sanders is recovering from reconstructive surgery following a recent diagnosis of aggressive bladder cancer.
The 57-year-old underwent a procedure this spring known as neobladder reconstruction after doctors discovered a tumor. The surgery involves removing the cancerous bladder and creating a new one from a segment of the patient’s own small intestine.
Surgeons isolate approximately a foot and a half of the ileum, the final section of the small intestine. This segment is then cut open to form a flat sheet, folded, and sutured into a spherical shape. Dr. Max Kates, co-director of the Greenberg Bladder Cancer Institute at Johns Hopkins University, described the final result as resembling a “volleyball covered in sutures.” The newly formed bladder is then connected to the kidneys and urethra.
Dr. Janet Kukreja, director of urologic oncology at the University of Colorado Cancer Center, performed Sanders’ surgery using a robotic, laparoscopic method that requires only small incisions. She noted a significant advantage of the procedure is that the body does not reject the neobladder, eliminating the need for immunosuppressant medications. In contrast, artificial materials are unsuitable for bladder reconstruction because the urinary tract rejects them, leading to the formation of painful bladder stones.
However, a reconstructed bladder does not function identically to an original one, as it cannot send signals to the brain indicating when it is full. Dr. Jodi Maranchie, a surgical urologic oncologist at UPMC in Pittsburgh, explained that patients must retrain themselves to urinate on a schedule. While daytime control can be achieved, nighttime leakage often remains a persistent issue.
During a press conference on Monday, Sanders addressed this drawback with candor, joking that, like his one-year-old grandson, he now “depends on the Depends.”
“I know there’s a lot of people out there going through what I’m going through,” he said. “And let’s stop being ashamed of it.”
Kates praised the Pro Football Hall of Famer’s openness, noting that shame surrounding incontinence is common among patients. He said Sanders’ authentic and humorous approach was “anything but shameful” and that two of his own patients felt “completely validated” by the coach’s comments.
According to the American Cancer Society, an estimated 85,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with bladder cancer this year. While the disease is more common in men, Dr. Maranchie noted that women often present with more advanced cases, theorizing that the primary symptom—blood in the urine—is sometimes mistaken for menstruation.
Sanders revealed his tumor was found incidentally during a routine annual checkup. He stressed the importance of preventative care, concluding, “If it wasn’t for me getting tested for something else, they wouldn’t have stumbled up on this. Make sure you get the right care.”
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