Jerry Jones in 2010 he was diagnosed with stage 4 melanoma, but he overcame it with the help of an experimental drug, Dallas Cowboys the owner revealed this week.
“I was saved by excellent treatment, wonderful doctors and a real miracle. [drug] called PD-1 [therapy]- Jones said Dallas Morning News on Tuesday. “I was in the PD-1 trial and it was one of the best drugs.
“Now I have no tumors.”
Jones told Morning News he was diagnosed with cancer in June 2010 and began treatment at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston soon after. In the decade that followed, Jones said he underwent surgery twice on his lungs and twice on his lymph nodes.
He did not indicate when he started PD-1 therapy.
According to American Cancer SocietyPD-1 is a protein that acts as a switch, preventing certain immune cells called T cells from attacking normal cells. PD-1 inhibitor therapy blocks this protein to help the immune system better find and attack cancer cells.
Jones, 82, is the Cowboys' president and general manager in addition to his role as owner. The first public mention of his diagnosis appears to have come during the fifth episode of the Netflix docuseries.America's Team: The Player and His Cowboys“, which will be released on Tuesday.
While telling an anecdote about an entirely different topic—his relationship with former Cowboys coach Jimmie Johnson—Jones casually mentions that “about 12 years ago… I was being treated for cancer” as a doctoral student at Anderson.
The Morning News expanded on this comment in its wide-ranging interview with Jones.
