Deion Sanders has stared down every battle in life. He's beaten countless opponents on the field. But his toughest battle was off the field. Sanders announced in a press conference on Monday with two of his doctors on either side of him, that he was diagnosed with cancer a few months back. A tumor was found in his bladder, and Sanders made the decision, due to a high recurrence rate, to have his entire bladder removed and replaced with an artificial one.
The surgery was successful, and now Coach Prime is cancer-free. He's happy, healthy, and ready to lead Colorado back onto the gridiron this fall. But Sanders didn't face these challenges alone. He had a great medical team, whom he thanked profusely in the press conference.
He also thanked another all-time great football player, much like himself. A Hall of Famer who knew all too well the plight that Sanders was facing with a cancer diagnosis and surgery.
Deion Sanders revealed that Randy Moss has been one of his biggest supporters
Sanders said in his press conference that Randy Moss called him "every other day" to check on him and pray with him as he battled bladder cancer. That's even more impactful when you realize that Moss himself just battled, and beat cancer. Moss stepped away from ESPN for the final two months of last season, ultimately revealing a cancer diagnosis himself.
Like Prime, Moss beat cancer, and will be returning to his role as an NFL analyst this fall.
Moss and Sanders have a lot in common as two of the very best at their respective positions. Sanders is widely considered the greatest cornerback in NFL history. Moss might rank behind Jerry Rice as the best WR of all time, but the consensus is that he's No. 2, and perhaps the single most talented WR in football history. Now, they can add cancer survivors to their list of accolades, an achievement they both will look at as greater than anything they ever did on the football field.
Moss was likely still dealing with the aftereffects of his treatment and still found the time to reach out to Coach Prime with reassurance and prayer. It's heartwarming to know that the two were able to lean on each other during perhaps the darkest time of each of their lives.