Jerry Jones revealed in the new Netflix documentary series about the Dallas Cowboys that he was diagnosed with cancer years ago, and the 82-year-old has since shared more details about the health issues.
In the fifth episode of the Netflix docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys,” which was released this week, Jones spoke about how he underwent cancer treatments at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston roughly “a dozen” years ago. The episode did not contain any other information about the condition.
Jones was more candid in an interview with Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News that was published on Wednesday. Jones said he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma in 2010 and that he beat the cancer thanks in part to a drug he called “a real miracle.”
“I was saved by a fabulous treatment and great doctors and a real miracle [drug] called PD-1 [therapy],” Jones revealed. “I went into trials for that PD-1 and it has been one of the great medicines. I now have no tumors.”
Jones said he had two lung surgeries and two lymph node surgeries over the course of a decade after his initial diagnosis. He says the cancer began as melanoma and metastasized to other parts of his body, which is why he required surgeries and treatment for tumors.
The American Cancer Society says PD-1, or Programmed Cell Death Protein 1, is a drug that helps the immune system better recognize and destroy cancer cells. Treatments similar to the one Jones described have been shown to be very effective in patients with melanoma.
There had been no known public mention of Jones’ cancer battle before the Netflix documentary was released.
Jones remains the general manager of the Dallas Cowboys in addition to being the team’s owner. He has been busy this offseason dealing with another star player’s holdout.
