The stadium lights dimmed, then flickered back on, catching Coach Prime framed against a sea of reporters. Deion Sanders stood center, not as football royalty, but as a survivor. He had bladder cancer. That diagnosis, first disclosed just days ago, came as a seismic shock. At 57, he faced surgery to remove his bladder and build a new one from intestinal tissue. Yet he emerged standing tall, declaring he was cancer‑free. His oncologist, Dr. Janet Kukreja, confirmed it, “I am pleased to report. He is cured from the cancer.”
The Calm Down with Erin and Charissa podcast opened differently on August 2. Erin Andrews leaning forward, her tone soft but certain, “We’re going to talk about someone now that we love very, very much. He was my favorite player growing up. And I had the great chance to work with him at NFL Network.”
That someone was Deion Sanders. Coach Prime. The icon who had just revealed that he underwent surgery to remove his bladder after doctors found a tumor, a battle with bladder cancer that stripped away 25 pounds, forced him to write his will, and demanded a fight most never see.
Andrews’ voice carried both urgency and admiration, “But I think the underlying thing, and something I love him so much for doing, because it is very hard sometimes for people to say it, you got to go get checked. You got to go get checked. Thank God he caught it. Thank God they got it before. I mean, that was a lot he went through, but that is what he was stressing to people today and early.”
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For Andrews, this wasn’t just another story. She’s lived her own. Diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016, she underwent surgery and returned to work just days later. She knows the fear. She knows the urgency. And so when Sanders’ surgeon, Dr. Kukreja, stood at a press conference and used a word she doesn’t give lightly, cured, the moment landed even heavier. No traces of cancer remain.
Charissa Thompson jumped in, “He does it all. Yep. He really does. And he made it so personal for people to hear. We love you, Coach. We are so happy that you are on the mend.”
It wasn’t just a conversation between two hosts and their audience; it was a public love letter to a friend who had stared down cancer and won. Coming from Erin, a survivor herself, the message carried more weight.
Medical advancements that saved Deion Sanders
In a procedure called neobladder construction, Dr. Kukreja and her surgical team at the University of Colorado Cancer Center used 18 inches of Sanders’ own small intestine to create a brand new bladder.
“The human body is amazing,” Dr. Kukreja said, a hint of wonder in her voice. The new bladder can’t send the same signals to his brain. Daytime control? Manageable. Nights? More challenging. In true Coach Prime style, he turned even this into a punchline. “I truly depend on depends.”
In front of the cameras, he refused to be ashamed. “There’s a lot of people going through what I’m going through, let’s stop being ashamed of it.” Optimism flows through every sentence. He’s back to coaching. He’s back to living. Sanders dropped 25 pounds during the ordeal, and true to form, he turned it into a punchline: “I was like Atlanta Falcons Prime at one point,” he quipped with a grin. But behind the humor was a serious stretch of health scares. Through it all, Sanders kept his spirits up. “He never folded, never wavered,” said Lauren Askevold, one of the lead athletic trainers who helped guide him through recovery.
This was the game that could have ended him. Instead, he walked out with a rebuilt body, a cured diagnosis, and a new mission.
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