Shannon Sharpe had just landed the job he’d spent years chasing, a dream co-hosting role with Skip Bayless on FS1, when a routine medical visit changed everything. The NFL Hall of Famer walked into a screening expecting the usual, but walked out with a life-altering diagnosis.
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“I’m a prostate cancer survivor, man,” opened up to Miguel on Club Shay Shay. That’s how Sharpe opens up today, but back then, even he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Cancer had already taken a heavy toll on his family. He knew the history all too well. And it’s exactly why he started getting tested early.
“I started getting tested early. I started getting tested at the age of 35. My dad died at 39… he had oral cancer, throat cancer. And he had two brothers who didn’t make it to 50. So it ran in my family.”
Growing up seeing cancer steal lives prematurely made Sharpe hyper-aware. It’s why, even at the height of his broadcasting breakthrough, he walked into the doctor’s office for what he thought would be just another routine colonoscopy.
“I went in for a routine colonoscopy… and my doctor—I knew something was wrong when my doctor didn’t call me back. I’m like, it’s already been some days.”
Days later, the truth arrived: prostate cancer. But thankfully, “I was diagnosed in 2016. Had the surgery in 2017 and I’ve been clear ever since.”
However, the road to that moment was anything but easy. Sharpe kept the diagnosis almost entirely to himself. Not even his children knew. He didn’t want fear to overshadow their lives or his opportunity. So he compartmentalized, focused, and got through it.
Today, at 57, he’s cancer-free and using his story to raise awareness, especially in communities where conversations about prostate cancer rarely happen. Sharpe partnered with Janssen Oncology’s ‘Talk That Talk’ initiative to help men, especially Black men, who face higher prostate cancer risks, get proactive about screening.
As he puts it: “I go to the doctor now… I’m going to take advantage of it for real. Like, listen, come on.”
Shannon Sharpe‘s story also echoes another recent reminder from the sports world: Colorado head coach and NFL legend Deion Sanders’ own health battle. Sanders, who previously had two toes amputated in 2021 due to blood clots, revealed this offseason that an aggressive bladder tumor forced doctors to remove his entire bladder.
They rebuilt a new one using intestinal tissue, leaving Sanders weakened, uncertain, and preparing a will. Like Sharpe, he kept the diagnosis from his children at first. Like Sharpe, he urged awareness once he healed enough to speak publicly.
Sharpe’s willingness to get tested early caught the cancer at a stage where it could be treated. It allowed him to beat the disease, keep his dream job, and be here to meet his future grandchildren. His story is a reminder that cancer doesn’t always announce itself. It often hides behind “I feel fine,” behind busy schedules, behind fear, and silence.
