Searching for a "Plan D"
Drs. Bob and Sara Jane White
When their 22-year old son and stepson John Warren was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor after his junior year at Texas A&M, Sara Jane and Bob White knew the odds were stacked against them. They stood by John's side as doctors prepared them for the worst. But after enduring brain surgery and months of radiation and chemotherapy, John overcame the cancer that nearly claimed his life.John went on to receive his petroleum engineering degree from A&M in 1986, and settled into a new home and job in his adopted hometown of Sugar Land. He met and married Lisa Beckerdite, and they became parents to two girls, Mary Kaitlin and Carly. John enjoyed being with his family and spending time outdoors. During this time, Lisa was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, but John continued to experience good health. For the most part, the Warrens lived a normal life, full of work, the girls' activities and family vacations.
However, in the spring of 2003, almost 20 years after his first diagnosis, John's doctors once again found a malignant brain tumor from his MRI results. John's family rallied around him through three brain surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy, and hoped that his will to live would prove stronger than the tumor. And when it seemed that all hope was lost, he even asked his doctor about Plan D. John desperately wanted to live for his wife Lisa, their girls, family and countless friends that were pulling for him.
"John knew it would be a difficult road from the day we found out about the second tumor," Sara Jane says. "He fought so hard to overcome it, but it just wasn't to be. John had so much courage and he wasn't afraid to die, but this time he just had so much to live for. He had such a strong faith and it reflected a lot in those last months."
During his fight with the tumor, John participated in many clinical trials. He worried about his children and if they could possibly inherit a predisposition to brain tumors. He wanted to see a cure found for others that would come after him.
So his mother had an idea to further John's dream for a cure while also honoring her son.
"When we realized we were losing him, I thought that setting up a research memorial fund in his honor would be wonderful since it was an interest of his," Sara Jane says. "I knew that if we waited until after he died, it would be too late for others to contribute to the memorial. So I contacted the College of Medicine and everything was set up by the time we lost him."
Despite the courageous fight that included three brain surgeries, radiation and chemotherapy, John lost his battle with cancer after a year and eight months, on October 14, 2004.
The Whites founded the John William Warren III Memorial Brain Tumor Research Fund, which received contributions from more than 150 family members and friends after his death.
"This gift is a reflection of what John would have wanted," Bob says. "He wanted medical sciences and research to reach the point where future generations wouldn't have to fight brain tumors like he did. And it is fitting because John loved A&M."
"It takes a lot of money to do basic science research and take it to the next level," Sara Jane says. "But we want to be part of a larger effort that hopefully leads to a cure someday. We want to help build the research program at the medical school and offer a spirit of encouragement to scientists and researchers on John's behalf."
John's family hopes that the fund will honor the memory of the courageous man they loved.
"John was humble, kind and honest to a fault," Sara Jane says. "He had great integrity and a sense of purpose. He grew up in a hurry because of his experience with the first tumor, but also had a wonderful child-like quality about him. John enjoyed the simple pleasures in life and had an indomitable spirit."
Bob is a psychiatrist in private practice, and is a clinical professor and is active in group psychotherapy training at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. Sara Jane recently retired from her 35-year career in city planning to focus on her "grandmotherly duties" to her eight grandchildren. The Whites reside in Sugar Land, not far from Lisa, Mary Kaitlin and Carly.
(July 2006)
