Former NFL quarterback Alex Smith recently discussed his 7-year-old daughter’s battle with brain cancer, sharing that the 10-hour surgery to remove the malignant tumor in 2022 had “missed a piece.”
Smith, who retired from the NFL in 2021 after coming back from a horrible leg injury that almost cost him his life after a subsequent infection that had developed, told The New York Times that his family is living “scan to scan” after his daughter, Sloane, was diagnosed in May 2022 with a rare form of brain cancer. Smith told the outlet, “It’s different when it’s your little girl, and you’re helpless with how terrifying that is.”
The 39-year-old shared his daughter’s diagnosis on social media in June 2022, revealing that she had been rushed to the hospital just a month before with “stroke-like symptoms.” Smith said further testing revealed “a large brain tumor,” and Sloane was taken into emergency surgery. He said at the time, “The 10-hour procedure was the most excruciating time of our lives. A clock has never moved so slowly. The incredible neurosurgeons (at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health) did a miraculous job and were able to remove 100% of the tumor.”
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However, a second 10-hour surgery was required this year after doctors discovered that the entire tumor had not been removed. Smith told The New York Times, “We found out last fall that essentially they had missed a piece, that there was a little piece in there left over.” Smith’s wife, Elizabeth, said that the miraculous comeback her husband had after his leg injury is something their three children can look back on as they navigate their daughter’s battle.
She said, “They know that you can overcome things, and you can fight through, and you can go back to living your life. Right? They got to go through that journey with their dad. I think it’s probably hopeful for them, right?” The family talked about trying to maintain a sense of normalcy as they move forward despite the uncertainty of their situation. Elizabeth told The New York Times, “This is something that I don’t know where the end is. We don’t know because of the rarity of her tumor when it will pop its head back if it will pop its head back.”
Smith played 16 seasons in the league and was honored as the 2020 Comeback Player of the Year after returning to the field following a devastating leg injury in 2018, which required 17 surgeries.