Cowboys Head Coach Brian Schottenheimer shared his story of cancer survival after it was revealed Jerry Jones battled with melanoma for a decade.
DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revealed to reporters Wednesday at training camp that he fought stage four melanoma for a decade after a 2010 diagnosis and that an experimental drug saved his life.
“Millions of people are dealing with setbacks every day,” Jones said. “There’s no question from my point of view the great life that I get to have being around you guys, being around this team. For me, if you need to be around a positive attitude when you’re dealing with something like [cancer], I’ve been around it.”
Jones said he was blessed to be part of the NFL as he battled cancer more than a decade ago.
“Got a lot to keep your mind on as you’re going forward,” Jones said. “You don’t like to think about your mortality, but I was so fortunate to have some great people who sent me direction. I got to be part of a trial that was propitious. It really worked. It’s called PD-1 and it really really really worked.”
Jones said the treatment “ate his hips up” and he needed to get both hips replaced.
“It was rough on your bones, but other than that, I’m so proud to be here with you guys,” Jones said.
Watch his full comments below:
During Wednesday’s training camp press conference, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke on Jones’ battle while reflecting on his own cancer diagnosis. Schottenheimer was diagnosed with thyroid cancer when he was 28 years old.
“Mine was certainly less serious… nothing like stage four,” Schottenheimer said. “But you hear that word ‘cancer’ and it scares the hell out of you.”
Schottenheimer said he learned he had cancer during his first year as quarterback coach for the San Diego Chargers under his father, Marty.
“I get the word and I go and I find my dad,” Schottenheimer said. “I told him that I said, ‘Hey, I have cancer.’ I broke down…and he said, ‘Hey, you know, we’ll figure this out and we’ll get you the best help we can get.'”
Schottenheimer said his father called up his former boss, then-Washington owner Dan Snyder for help. Snyder had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer just years before at the time.
“Dan said, ‘Marty, give me five minutes and I’ll call you back,'” Schottenheimer said. “And I think it was within 24 to 36 hours, I was on the operating table in Rochester, Minnesota.”
A surgeon from the Mayo Clinic removed Schottenheimer’s thyroid and 17 lymph nodes. Schottenheimer’s wife, Gemmi, was pregnant at the time of his diagnosis with their first child, Sutton.
“It was a traumatic thing for me,” Schottenheimer said. “It was a scary time… I was terrified of the fact that I might lose my ability to speak because of my love for coaching… I was one of the lucky ones.”
The Cowboys coach said one of the things that got him through his battle was his faith.
“I became a much better Christian, a much stronger believer,” Schottenheimer said. “I really leaned on my faith.”
Schottenheimer finished the discussion, noting his gratefulness that his story had a happy ending.
“Here I sit, and it could have gone a lot of different directions, just like Jerry’s story could have gone a lot of different directions,” Schottenheimer said. “My heart does go out to people that have to deal with cancer or any disease that can be deadly.”