Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, has revealed that he not only had Stage 4 cancer, but that he’s beaten it.
Further, he credits using an experimental trial drug to successfully treat his cancer diagnosis.
Jones, who is 82, was initially diagnosed with melanoma in 2010, and his fight with cancer would go over 10 years.
“I now have no tumors,” Jones said in a Wednesday, August 13, interview in The Dallas Morning News.
Watch Jerry Jones speak on his battle with cancer, as well as the future of the Cowboys, here:
Jones’ cancer diagnosis was revealed in the new Netflix documentary series America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, which gives viewers a look at the Cowboys during the 1990s and will premiere on the streaming platform on August 19.
Ahead of the release of the documentary, Jones expounded upon his diagnosis and battle with cancer while speaking with various members of the press on Wednesday, August 13, in The Dallas Morning News.
Asked about the revelation of his past cancer diagnosis, Jones said:
“From my point of view, the great life I get to have … being around this team, being around the NFL, being around sports, that, for me, if you need to be around a positive attitude when you’re trying to deal with something like [cancer] … I’ve been blessed as I’ve dealt with that cancer to get to be a part of the NFL.”
“Well, you don’t like to think of your mortality, but I was so fortunate to have some great people that sent me in the right direction,” Jones said. “I got to be a part of a trial that was propitious. It really worked. It’s called PD-1, and it really, really, really worked.”
He admitted it was “rough” on his bones, adding that he had to have both of his hips replaced amid the treatment. Still, he described PD-1 as a “real miracle” when he was interviewed by The Dallas Morning News, adding, “I went into trials for that PD-1, and it has been one of the great medicines.”
Since his diagnosis in 2010, PD-1 treatments have been approved by the FDA, but were going through a trial period up until 2014.
PD-1, which stands for programmed cell death protein 1, is an immune checkpoint inhibitor. Cancer Center notes this immunotherapy works to prevent T-cells from turning against the body.
In addition to the PD-1 treatment, Jones also said he had two surgeries on his lung and two on his lymph nodes over the next 10 years after skin cancer cells metastasized to other parts of his body.
Watch the trailer for America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys, which Jerry Jones described as an “emotional” documentary, here:
