{"id":134832,"date":"2025-10-20T22:31:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-20T22:31:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/134832\/"},"modified":"2025-10-20T22:31:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-20T22:31:15","slug":"advocate-and-cancer-survivor-lainie-jones-dies-at-41-in-fort-lauderdale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/134832\/","title":{"rendered":"Advocate and cancer survivor Lainie Jones dies at 41 in Fort Lauderdale"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lainie Jones believed in the power of being early.<\/p>\n

She credited early detection as the reason she survived six different types of cancer\u2014and it became the driving force behind her lifelong advocacy for early detection research and support for others facing cancer. Jones, who suffered from Li-Fraumeni syndrome \u2014 a rare genetic condition that made her prone to multiple cancers \u2014 shared her journey with her Instagram followers around the world, encouraging them to do self-checks and stay current with doctor visits.<\/p>\n

Her first battle with cancer was when she was only 18 months old. Jones died Oct. 14 at her Fort Lauderdale home with her husband, Joseph \u201cJJ\u201d Jones, by her side at 41.<\/p>\n

Jones\u2019 father, Jeff Schultz, 74, said it was her advocacy that kept her going. \u201cShe really enjoyed being a mentor to people who had cancer,\u201d he said, recalling one young woman who called herself one of Jones\u2019 \u201cmutant buddies\u201d at her Thursday funeral in reference to their shared Li-Fraumeni diagnosis.<\/p>\n

Her optimism and candor reached far beyond her social media. Jones thrived in her work with the American Cancer Society, where she worked for the Hope Lodge in New York City, and later joined the organization\u2019s events department and helped lead its gala. \u201cShe was infectious,\u201d friend and former colleague at the American Cancer Society, Lorraine Katt, 52, said. \u201cPeople just wanted to be around her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz first met Jones in 2009 at a Sharsheret Walk in Boca Raton and was immediately \u201cenveloped by her light and energy and her ferocity.\u201d The two went on to work together over the years to raise awareness, funds and legislation for cancer research and early detection.<\/p>\n

\"Lainie<\/p>\n

Lainie Jones and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe was all gas, no quit,\u201d Wasserman Schultz said. \u201cShe had every reason to really only think about herself, but instead thought about everybody else but herself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even after enduring brutal treatments for brain cancer, Jones insisted on speaking at Wasserman Schultz\u2019s annual Cancer Survivorship Summit last month. \u201cShe was so determined to be able to be at that summit and deliver her message,\u201d the congresswoman said.<\/p>\n

Her last message to her Instagram followers showed her commitment to funding research for cancer treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve faced seven primary cancers, gone through multiple treatments, and I\u2019m still thriving,\u201d she wrote in one of her final Instagram posts. \u201cResearch doesn\u2019t just matter \u2014 it saves lives.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Live every day like it\u2019s your first\u2019<\/p>\n

Schultz remembers his daughter as \u201cthe center of attention\u201d from the moment she was born. Jones was the middle child in the family, which moved to South Florida when she was around 6.<\/p>\n

After her first battle with cancer when she was a toddler, she was eventually declared cancer-free.<\/p>\n

But by age 24, she was diagnosed again\u2014this time with breast cancer. By then, Jones had been dating JJ Jones, who she met at the Abercrombie & Fitch store in Boca Raton Town Center in 2004, for a few years.<\/p>\n

Doctors told her she\u2019d need a full-time caregiver and might have to move back in with her parents. Unsure what to do, she called JJ Jones. He knew exactly what to do\u2014he packed up his place in Boynton Beach and moved in to care for her.<\/p>\n

\"Lainie<\/p>\n

Lainie Jones and her husband, Joseph \u201cJJ\u201d Jones.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost young men would have bolted,\u201d Schultz said of his son-in-law. \u201cHe has been with her through anything and everything that she\u2019s gone through.\u201d<\/p>\n

JJ Jones proposed to Jones on April Fool\u2019s Day at her favorite place\u2014Disney World\u2014because she loved how magical and happy it felt. They were married on March 3, 2012.<\/p>\n

Over the years, she would face breast cancer, thyroid cancer, melanoma, sarcoma, adrenal carcinoma, non-smoker\u2019s lung cancer and finally glioblastoma.<\/p>\n

But JJ Jones said that his wife never lived her life in fear and instead chose to \u201clive everyday like it\u2019s your first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Optimism never dimmed<\/p>\n

Jones was also a devoted fashionista, always ahead of the latest trends, her husband said.<\/p>\n

Her sense of style is what Katt, her friend and colleague, first noticed when Jones came in for an interview at the American Cancer Society\u2019s Hope Lodge in New York City in 2015.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember seeing her walk out of the elevator in a bright pink blazer and thinking, oh boy, who\u2019s this? She\u2019s definitely Florida,\u201d Katt said from New York City.<\/p>\n

Katt, now the lodge\u2019s general manager, said she immediately told her boss, \u201cIf we don\u2019t grab her, this will be such a big mistake.\u201d The two quickly became close friends.<\/p>\n

\"Lainie<\/p>\n

Lainie Jones and Lorraine Katt<\/p>\n

Jones thrived at the American Cancer Society, and she later would thrive as an advocate on social media through her Instagram account, @theearlydetective. She encouraged followers to do self-checks and stay up to date with doctor visits. Her husband said she would light up whenever someone messaged to say her posts helped them catch cancer early.<\/p>\n

Katt last spoke to Jones on Sept. 30, to tell her she was dedicating a 180-mile fundraising hike in Spain to her. \u201cYou guys are wonderful, and I love you,\u201d Katt said Jones told her during their final conversation.<\/p>\n

Even after multiple diagnoses, her optimism never dimmed. \u201cShe would always say, \u2018What\u2019s the alternative\u2014be negative? That\u2019s not me,\u201d Katt said.<\/p>\n

\"Lainie<\/p>\n

Lainie Jones<\/p>\n

Those who knew and loved Jones knew she would want to be remembered as a warrior, with her husband also describing her as a rainbow\u2014always colorful and bright. Lainie Jones is survived by her husband JJ, her father Jeff and mother Kathy Schultz, and her brothers Brian and Joey Schultz.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lainie Jones believed in the power of being early. She credited early detection as the reason she survived…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":134833,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[275],"tags":[80480,4139,110,2566,80481,18,135,475,474,19,17,80483,80484,80479,80482,34039,80478],"class_list":{"0":"post-134832","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-healthcare","8":"tag-american-cancer-society","9":"tag-breast-cancer","10":"tag-cancer","11":"tag-cancer-research","12":"tag-debbie-wasserman-schultz","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-health-care","16":"tag-healthcare","17":"tag-ie","18":"tag-ireland","19":"tag-jj-jones","20":"tag-joseph-jj-jones","21":"tag-lainie-jones","22":"tag-lorraine-katt","23":"tag-thyroid-cancer","24":"tag-wasserman-schultz"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=134832"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/134832\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/134833"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=134832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=134832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=134832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}