My Wife’s Battle with Breast Cancer

I would expect that anyone reading this blog has in one way or another been touched by the travesty of breast cancer. Whether you’ve known someone personally who has battled this disease or whether you just know someone who knows someone who has been affected, most people are within few degrees of separation.

Our devastation of the disease began in August of 2005 when my wife Lisa was diagnosed during a routine mammogram. The news shook our world. With two small children and having just reached our forties, a million questions raced through our minds about what our future would hold. Like so many others, we had obviously heard of the disease, but never in a million years thought that it would actually enter our home. We began discussing “options” and treatments and alternatives…a whirlwind of terms and “game plans” filled our minds with unfamiliarity. We were in and out of hospitals, seeing numerous doctors for all kinds of different reasons. I admittedly struggled somewhat to balance maintaining my real estate business with being there for all of Lisa’s appointments and watching the kids more since Lisa wasn’t well enough most of the time to do so. We were very fortunate to have such wonderful family, friends, and employees to help pitch in to relieve some of the burden. With their help, I was able to continue to offer my real estate clients the unsurpassed service they deserve, and they couldn’t even tell I was going through such an ordeal. I am grateful to my profession that I had the flexibility to be there for my wife and kids during this trying time.

My wife ultimately had to have a double mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiation. The whole ordeal, from diagnosis to the last radiation treatment, endured about a year and a half. We are proud to say though that she is now cancer free!

Since this experience, we have definitely learned more about ourselves and our family. We learned that we are stronger than we ever thought possible. We learned to genuinely value our time together as a family because you never know what unexpected turns may come ahead in life. We also learned that although we have been blessed financially, this does not protect us from cancer’s grasp, for the disease has no prejudice to race nor class or religion. We were very fortunate that Lisa was able to beat this disease, and we are hopeful that it never returns. Every year now we coordinate a team to participate in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in San Diego. If you, or anyone you know, would like to participate with us, we would love to have you on our team! Our hearts go out to those who have also battled cancer and those who are enduring it now. We wish you the best of success!


Gregg Whitney