Leslie Heath, a REALTOR® with Keller Williams Realty, inspires others by sharing her story of overcoming breast cancer.
In September of 2017, Leslie discovered her diagnosis of breast cancer. “It took about two days for everything to sink in; I didn’t tell anyone except my husband. We were devastated and weren’t sure how to tell our family the news,” says Leslie. As time went on, Leslie soon realized the emotional part was initially harder than the physical part of her journey. Her sister, who is a nurse practitioner, immediately told Leslie to cancel her breast cancer surgery when Leslie had called to share the diagnosis news. Leslie was uncertain about the path she needed to take for her cancer and decided to look into additional options and get second opinions.
Emotionally, Leslie’s family helped her reevaluate the situation. She decided to do more research on her own as to what direction was best for her unique journey with breast cancer. Leslie leaned on her closest friends, family, church members, and real estate peers to help reduce the emotional stress she was experiencing. “I don’t know how people manage their life without faith and Jesus, especially when there is a major obstacle thrown your way. It’s what kept me going,” says Leslie.
A breast cancer diagnosis wasn’t the only obstacle Leslie was thrown during this time in her life. At the same time, she was raising her granddaughter for what she originally thought would be a short period of a couple of months. That quickly changed, and her granddaughter is now nearly six years old and has been living with Leslie for the past four years.
It broke Leslie’s heart that her granddaughter would have to watch her go through cancer at such a young age. At the time of her diagnosis, her granddaughter had just turned two. But little did she know at the time, having her granddaughter by her side throughout her cancer journey made some of the greatest memories for Leslie. It was her granddaughter’s little piece of joy that encouraged her every single day. “I remember my granddaughter saying that it was okay if my hair was falling out; I was still pretty. She had so much fun wearing scarfs alongside me.”
In addition to raising her granddaughter, Leslie decided to continue working as a REALTOR throughout her cancer diagnosis by making a few changes to her work routine. She had been working in real estate for 20 years and didn’t have any plans on stopping. She decided to start working from home and quickly learned what an incredible support system Keller Williams, her real estate broker, had created within their office. If Leslie could not make it to a closing or listing appointment, she knew there were other agents in line to help her. That is one of the things that sets Keller Williams apart.
“Keller Willams has a motto of God, family, and business in that order. Other agents at my office have gone through trying times, and there has never been a question as to who will be there to help them. I had the same experience when I went through cancer. We know that someone will step up to the plate and help. We are a family at Keller Williams.”
Cancer wasn’t a foreign concept for Leslie. Five years prior to her own diagnosis, Leslie’s best friend, Cory Smith, had been diagnosed with cancer. Even though Cory’s journey and type of cancer were different from Leslie’s, she knew exactly what Leslie would encounter and stood by her side. Even more so, Leslie knew three ladies from her church that had endured cancer, and every week, they would call and check on her and offer tips from their own experiences.
One of the ladies at Leslie’s church had worn ice caps to help save her hair. Leslie knew she wanted to also try to save her hair and asked her friend for tips. “I would change my hair cap every 45 minutes, and the ice would be negative 10 degrees. It was excruciating,” says Leslie.
Her support system is what Leslie strongly believes helped get her through her cancer journey. Her friends at church offered their knowledge and tips through their own cancer experiences, her sister offered her medical expertise to guide her in the right direction, her Keller Williams family supported her work when she needed a helping hand, and her husband stood by her side every step of the way – going to every chemo treatment and supported her physically and emotionally.
Going through breast cancer has taught Leslie how important it is to be surrounded by people that love and care about her. Leslie has been in remission since the fall of 2019 and, as a result of her experience, has decided to pay it forward by making it her mission to reach out to ladies who are going through cancer.
“I have had the privilege of helping several women go through their cancer journey. It’s something that has allowed me to inspire others to keep fighting.”
