The Cowboys are the subject of the Netflix docuseries “America’s Team: The Gambler and His Cowboys.” The show focuses on the NFL franchise and owner Jerry Jones.
The assumption for the show was that it would pull back the curtain on operations around the football team, but viewers were actually surprised to find out that it revealed more about Jones himself. While the show discusses his background and acquisition of the franchise, Jones revealed a serious medical issue on the show.
The Cowboys owner revealed in the show’s fifth episode that he battled Stage 4 cancer for 10 years and claimed that an experimental drug is what helped him beat it.
Here is more on what we know about Jones’ cancer diagnosis.
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Jerry Jones cancer diagnosis
Jones said that his diagnosis came in June 2010 and that he then began treatment at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He added that over the next decade, he had four surgeries. Two of the surgeries were on his lungs, and two others were on his lymph nodes.
Talking about his treatment, Jones said, “I was saved by a fabulous treatment and great doctors and a real miracle [drug] called PD-1 [therapy]. I went into trials for that PD-1 and it has been one of the great medicines.” The Cowboys owner confirmed that he has no more tumors and is cancer-free.
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What does Stage 4 cancer mean?
According to the Melanoma Research Alliance, “a stage 4 diagnosis means that the skin cancer cells have metastasized to other parts of the body.” The American Cancer Society reports that “patients with stage 4 melanoma have a five-year survival rate of 35%.” The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center had a study that suggests that “new treatments have increased the five-year survival rate to 50%.”
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What is PD-1?
PD-1’s full name is Programmed Cell Death Protein 1. It is an immunotherapy that “helps the immune system fight cancer cells by blocking PD-1, thus enabling T cells to better recognize and destroy cancer cells.
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What episode does Jerry Jones talk about his cancer diagnosis?
Netflix conducted over 40 hours of interviews for the show, and it is unknown when Jones revealed during that process that he had battled cancer. In the docuseries, Jones is seen talking about it during episode five titled “The Shootout at Valley Ranch.”
The episode focuses on the relationship between the owner and former head coach Jimmy Johnson. During the episode, Jones makes a reference to undergoing cancer treatments at the MD Anderson Cancer Center “about a dozen years ago.”
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How old is Jerry Jones?
Jones was born on Oct. 13, 1942. He is 82 years old.
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Brian Schottenheimer cancer
After seeing Jones speak openly now about his past cancer diagnosis, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer talked about his own. He revealed in a press conference that he dealt with thyroid cancer when he was 28 years old.
Schottenheimer said, “I’m glad that Jerry shared it, just because I think it gives people hope. It gives people the strength to say ‘Hey, you can beat this.’” He added, “I was terrified that I would lose my ability to speak because of my love for coaching. I was one of the lucky ones.”
