NFL Star Alex Smith, 39, Says He Felt “Helpless” & “Terrified” After Daughter Was Diagnosed With Brain Cancer – Helping Parents Cope With Pediatric Cancer
NFL Star Alex Smith, 39, Says He Felt “Helpless” & “Terrified” After Daughter Was Diagnosed With Brain Cancer – Helping Parents Cope With Pediatric Cancer
Retired NFL quarterback Alex Smith, 39, and his wife are faced with the emotional and daunting task of caring for their daughter who’s battling a malignant brain tumor. Her diagnosis came about a couple of years after Smith suffered his own career-threatening injury and life-threatening sepsis infection. Luckily, he recovered.
A child’s cancer diagnosis affects the entire family so when assuming the role of a caregiver, it’s important to remember to be your child’s biggest advocate so they receive the best care possible. This includes making sure any concerning symptoms are fully and expeditiously addressed.
Caregivers must also be on guard for “caregiver burnout” where stress, anger, fatigue, and illness emerge from putting another person’s needs ahead of their own. Remember, talking to a therapist or your support group is an important tool to help you cope during this difficult period.
Brain tumors can be cancerous (malignant) or benign (noncancerous) and can affect both children and adults.
Depending on where the tumor is located within the brain, they do not always cause symptoms. However, common symptoms may include behavior changes, blurred vision, vomiting, a seizure, and headaches.
Retired NFL football star Alex Smith and his wife Elizabeth are going through one of their most challenging times as parents because of their 7-year-old’s heart-wrenching battle with brain cancer. Before learning his daughter had a malignant brain tumor, the football star had just overcome a major leg injury and a life-threatening sepsis infection. However, his daughter’s cancer diagnosis is an even more emotional battle for him.
Being the parent of a young cancer patients comes with enormous emotions.
“It’s different when it’s your little girl…and you’re helpless with how terrifying that is,” Alex Smith said to the New York Times.
Smith played for the NFL for 16 years, and his career came to a close shortly after he managed an incredible comeback after a devastating leg injury. He suffered a “compound fracture to his right tibia and fibula” in November 2018 according to USA Today.
While recovering, he also developed sepsis, a life-threatening infection.
However, when his daughter’s health battle began it was more emotionally taxing. Last year, Smith’s daughter Sloane was rushed to the hospital to treat a malignant brain tumor after she experienced stroke-like symptoms according to her famous father’s Instagram post. MRI scans helped doctors discover she had a large brain tumor that required immediate attention.
She underwent a 10-hour craniotomy procedure with the hope of removing the malignant tumor. Although we know Sloane was diagnosed with a cancerous brain tumor, we don’t know the exact kind of tumor.
A craniotomy is “a procedure to cut out a tumor and it can be metastasized or a tumor that started someplace else like the breasts and went to the brain especially if the tumor is causing symptoms or if it’s large,” a board-certified neurosurgeon at Emory University School of Medicine Dr. Kimberly Hoang described to SurvivorNet.
PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – JANUARY 03: Quarterback Alex Smith #11 of the Washington Football Team delivers a pass over defensive end Vinny Curry #75 of the Philadelphia Eagles in the third quarter of the game at Lincoln Financial Field on January 03, 2021, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
After the procedure, doctors told Smith and his wife, they were not able to get all of the tumor during the procedure.
“There was a little piece in there left over,” Alex Smith said.
As Sloane’s journey continued, she underwent two brain surgeries, countless MRIs, and other tests and treatments.
“Over the past year, our daughter Sloane has been a little fighter,” Alex and his wife Elizabeth said on Instagram.
Unsurprisingly, Sloane’s brain tumor is impacting her entire family which includes her brothers and parents. Smith is no stranger to hospitals and recovering from a health challenge due to his past football career. However, it hits differently when it is your own child facing cancer.
“Never does a parent expect to fight this battle. No parent is prepared to hear those words. But we continued to fight. Fight for advancements in medicine, fight for all the other families going through similar if not worse battles and fight for our baby girl,” the Smiths said.
Advocating for your health and your child’s health is essential to getting the necessary care before a condition worsens. Some cancers can have subtle symptoms, so don’t delay seeing your doctor. Luckily, the Smiths got their baby girl into the right specialists just in time.
Family members caring for a child diagnosed with cancer can be stressful. Family support not only eases the anxiety of the cancer patient, but the added support also helps their loved ones.
Caregivers of cancer warriors must also watch out for “caregiver burnout” where stress, anger, fatigue, and illness emerge from putting another person’s needs ahead of your own.
Caregivers who find themselves struggling to care for a cancer warrior should seek out a therapist, or a support group of their own either online or in person.
As parents navigate the cancer journey with their young cancer warriors, it’s important to remember children’s bodies may react differently to treatments than adults because their bodies are still growing.
“They may receive more intense treatments…and they may respond differently to drugs that control symptoms in adults,” according to the National Cancer Institute so it’s important to ask plenty of questions to doctors throughout the cancer journey.
Battling Childhood Cancer
“More than 95 percent of childhood cancer survivors have significant health-related issues because of the current treatment options, and only 4 percent of the billions of dollars spent each year on cancer research and treatments are directed towards treating childhood cancer in the United States. Since 1980, fewer than 10 drugs have been developed for use in children with cancer while hundreds of drugs have been created exclusively for adults,” according to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation.
The types of treatment a child with cancer receives will depend on the stage and type of cancer the child has according to the National Cancer Institute. Common treatments include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, immunotherapy, and stem cell transplants.
Signs and Symptoms of Brain Cancer
Brain tumors do not always cause symptoms, but they can still impact a person’s brain function and overall health, depending on their size, type, and location within the brain. Tumors that grow big enough and disrupt normal central nervous system functioning can press on nearby nerves, blood vessels, or other tissues. The disrupted central nervous system can present in a variety of ways, potentially making it difficult to walk or maintain your balance.
The symptoms brain tumors can cause are similar for children and adults and they largely depend on where the tumor is located within the brain. According to the National Cancer Institute, common symptoms associated with brain tumors include:
Headaches
Seizures
Vomiting (sometimes with nausea)
Difficulty remembering things
Slurred speech
Vision problems
Trouble swallowing
Hearing problems
If any of these symptoms concern you, you should contact your child’s doctor.
