Colorado head football coach Deion Sanders talks about working the Da Vinci robotic surgical machine used to remove his cancerous bladder last year during a demonstration of the device last Tuesday in Boulder, Colo. (AP photo)

BOULDER, Colo. — Deion “Coach Prime” Sanders says 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 his bladder using part of his 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 first-hand look at the Intuitive Da Vinci 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 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 in his bladder. Although the tumor hadn’t reached the muscle layer in his bladder, it was considered “very high risk,” with a 50-50 chance of recurring or progressing after treatments.

Kukreja is among the small group of surgeons in the U.S. who perform robotic removal of the entire cancerous bladder — called a radical cystectomy — and robotic reconstruction of the organ, which involves having a section of intestine function as a bladder.

“It got me back in the game, got me back on my feet and got me out of the darn hospital and back into the normalcy of my life,” Sanders said. “I’m here to let people know there’s another option if you need surgery.”

Sanders has spent time recently with his son Shedeur, who’s entering his second year with the Cleveland Browns and who will compete for the starting job with Deshaun Watson in training camp.

“He’s on vacation, but he’s going to the hills in St. Croix right now doing gassers,” Sanders said.

___

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football