Former NFL star Alex Smith shares news of daughter's heartbreaking fight with brain tumor

Alex Smith, a former NFL quarterback who played 14 seasons in the league, shared the sad news that his daughter was fighting brain cancer.

The quarterback took to social media to share a photo of his daughter, Sloane Kenzington Smith, to share what happened to her, saying she was rushed to the emergency room and was told by doctors about her brain tumor:

“On May 10th, Sloane was rushed to the ER with stroke-like symptoms. She had an MRI and the doctors quickly informed us that she had a large brain tumor and needed an emergency craniotomy.”

Smith went on to thank the neurosurgeons, who removed Sloane's brain tumor through a 10-hour procedure:

“The 10-hour procedure was the most excruciating time of our lives. A clock has never moved so slowly. The incredible neurosurgeons [at Stanford Children's Health] did a miraculous job and were able to remove 100% of the tumor.”

The former quarterback said that his daughter, in her true form, bounced back from the procedure. The family is now waiting on more tests that will determine post-surgery requirements:

“Sloane—in her true form—bounced back from brain surgery like a rockstar! She didn’t skip a beat. After weeks of waiting on pathology, we learned that Sloane’s tumor is a very rare malignant tumor with very few documented cases—without a clear road map for treatment. We are currently awaiting more tests and gathering as many opinions as we can from doctors across the country to decide the best path forward. We wish this were easy, clear-cut and someone gave us a how-to guide. It’s anything but that.”

According to Smith, his daughter has healed from surgery and is back to her old self, feeling good:

“All we know is what is most important—and that’s SLOANE. She has healed from surgery. Back to her bubbly self. Singing, dancing, laughing, and feeling good.”

Alex Smith and his NFL career

Smith as a member of the Washington Football Team, now Commanders

Smith was the San Francisco 49ers' No. 1 overall pick in the 2005 NFL Draft. The quarterback spent the first seven seasons (2005-2007; 2009-2012) with the 49ers, starting 75 games.

The signal-caller then headed to the Kansas City Chiefs for the next five seasons of his career (2013-2017). He led the Chiefs to the playoffs four times as the team's starter, starting 76 regular-season games.

He joined the Washington Commanders for the 2018 season but suffered a compound fracture injury to his right tibia and fibula in Week 11 against the Houston Texans. The signal-caller missed the entire 2019 season due to the injury and had 17 surgeries to repair the damage.

In the 2020 season, he returned to Washington, starting six games and winning the AP Comeback Player of the Year award. Smith retired following the 2020 season.