Standing Up to Cancer With A Strong Partner: Early Detection

In 2004, pioneering rapper and actor LL COOL J’s wife, Simone I. Smith, was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer. A harrowing 15-hour surgery and long, arduous recovery followed.

Now, even 20 years later, the celebrity couple continues to advocate for early cancer detection, teaming with Pfizer and its PfizerForAll.com platform to encourage others to put their health first and take the American Cancer Society CancerRisk360™ assessment.

“My cancer journey absolutely changed my life and my priorities,” said Simone. “Partnering with Pfizer was natural to encourage others to be proactive and to go to the doctor, get their scans and let their voice be heard.”

Simone’s stage III chondrosarcoma, a cancer that develops in the cartilage of bone joints, could have cost her a leg – or even her life. But because she sought timely medical advice, doctors were able to stem its spread by removing her right tibia and replacing it with her left fibula, a steel rod, nails, screws and micro-veins from her healthy leg. Over the next two and a half years she had to relearn how to walk, slowly graduating from using a wheelchair, to two crutches, to one crutch, and then a cane. Throughout her journey, Simone’s husband was her rock, while her family, faith and inner strength helped her regain her health and mobility.

“It was the best of times; it was the worst of times,” recalled the Grammy-winning rapper. “The worst of times in the sense that I’m watching somebody who got a diagnosis they’re not happy with, but the best of times in seeing her response: the fortitude, faith in God, faith in themselves, the belief in science and the curiosity to seek out innovative treatments.”

This experience – deeply personal yet reflective of what countless families endure – informs the couple’s enthusiasm for PfizerForAll.com, a digital platform designed to make accessing healthcare simpler and more seamless. In addition to providing easy ways to connect with qualified healthcare professionals for cancer advice and offering tools to understand cancer risk factors, the site also helps people manage everyday health – like COVID-19, flu, migraines and vaccines – quickly and conveniently, all with information from educational resources.

“I saw what early detection did for Simone – it saved her life,” said LL COOL J. “Pfizer is encouraging people to do that and get detected early. This felt both personal to me and authentic.”

PfizerForAll.com includes the American Cancer Society CancerRisk360™ assessment: a unique, user-friendly tool designed to help individuals better understand their cancer risk factors by completing a questionnaire about lifestyle, health history, and cancer screening practices. Because a person’s cancer risk depends on multiple factors, many of which – diet, physical activity, tobacco use and sun/UV protection – can be controlled or modified to help reduce that risk.

Upon completing the American Cancer Society CancerRisk360™ assessment, you’ll receive tailored recommendations to improve your overall health and lower your risk of cancer. It’s not intended as a substitute for in-person healthcare, but rather to provide a starting point for a conversation with your doctor about taking active, well-informed responsibility for your health.

To further support the cancer community, Simone donates a portion of proceeds from her popular Simone I. Smith jewelry line, launched in 2011, to the American Cancer Society. “I design pieces that inspire, uplift and empower women,” she explained. “It’s important to give back, and that was just my mission from the time I started to design.”

For Simone and her husband, good health begins with self-advocacy. They encourage those around them to listen to their bodies, trust their instincts, and stay current with medical check ups, tests, and scans.

“You have to be the number one ambassador for your own health,” said LL COOL J. “You can’t ensure that your children will be healthy, or others around you will be healthy, if you’re not first making sure that you’re healthy … That’s the right kind of selfishness; that’s what we need.”

The couple nurtures open, transparent conversation about wellbeing with their four children, their wider family, and in the community. “I’m a nosey mother, so I’m always asking my kids what’s going on – they feel safe coming and talking with us,” Simone shared.

LL COOL J urges us to overcome any fear of seeking out information about cancer with the knowledge that early detection and treatment is absolutely key to positive outcomes.

“When you’re healthy, you can think about all kinds of things. If you’re unhealthy, the only thing you think about is your health,” he said.

“There’s only one answer, period, and that is early detection. In this instance, one thing you can do is go to PfizerForAll.com and take the American Cancer Society CancerRisk360™ assessment.”

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