RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesNiners radio announcer Greg Papa, a native of suburban Buffalo, wears Buffalo Sabres gear during one of the team's recent playoff games. (Courtesy Greg Papa)
Greg Papa sounded like Greg Papa.
During a recent two-hour phone interview from his East Bay home, the San Francisco 49ers radio announcer's distinctive baritone was robust. He recalled dates and details with his usual precision and punctuated stories with trademark humor.
But every three seconds, there was a loud click.
It came from a machine delivering supplemental oxygen through a nasal cannula. At one point, Papa paused to make the short walk to the bathroom. When he returned, he was winded.
"My 40 time," he said, "was 40 feet in 4.2 seconds."
Niners radio announcer Greg Papa does physical therapy with his brother Ron, right. (Courtesy Greg Papa)
A year after he was diagnosed with leukemia and nearly five months after a successful bone marrow transplant, Papa, 63, is cancer-free. But post-transplant complications that nearly killed him may have left his lungs permanently scarred. After a 42-year career in which he has spent 53 seasons as the voice for Bay Area teams, he faces the possibility that he might never return to the booth.
Papa returned home July 11 after spending 78 days at UCSF Medical Center, most of them in intensive care. His ordeal included pneumonia and the collapse of both lungs. He needed two chest tubes, spent nearly a week on a ventilator, developed a hernia from violent coughing and developed four blood clots, including one that traveled to a lung. He was advised by doctors to get his affairs in order.
"For many weeks, the situation was life-threatening," Papa said. "Now it's life-altering."
Doctors don't know how much lung capacity Papa can regain through pulmonary rehabilitation. He may require supplemental oxygen for the rest of his life. He has temporary diabetes from heavy doses of steroids. His mornings begin with insulin monitoring, two shots in his stomach for blood clots and 15 to 20 pills.
Radio announcer Greg Papa gets a visit from 49ers director of broadcasting Bob Sargent. (Courtesy Greg Papa)
"Breakfast can take an hour," he said.
Support for Greg Papa
The David Benzer Strike Out Fear Foundation, a 501(c)(3)nonprofit, has established a GoFundMe campaign to help ease the financial burden of Greg Papa's long recovery period. Funds will be used to assist with everyday living expenses while Papa is unable to work, and medical out-of-pocket expenses not fully covered by insurance including medical co-pays, uncovered medications, and home healthcare. Those wishing to support Greg can visit: support.strikeoutfear.org/helpgregpapabeatcancer
On July 20, nine days after leaving the hospital, Papa's blood pressure plummeted, sending him back to an emergency room. He was discharged the next day. The issue was related to a change in his medication.
Papa has quietly worked through serious health problems before. After being diagnosed in 2023 with cardiomyopathy, a hereditary heart condition, he often stood in front of a bathroom mirror before 49ers games and told himself: "Just get through this. You'll figure it out." During broadcasts, he would mute his microphone and let analyst Tim Ryan talk while he collected himself.
"That was a challenge, but it was nothing like this," Papa said. "No one knows what my future is."
Four months ago, Papa was optimistic in the aftermath of his bone marrow transplant. His younger sister, Judy, had been a perfect match. There were no complications after 5 million of Judy's harvested cells were infused through a Hickman line in Papa's chest, a process that took an hour.
Papa was expected to spend a month at UCSF, but he returned home in two weeks. He was hopeful he could attend training-camp practices this summer and call the 49ers' season opener in Melbourne, Australia, on Sept. 10. A text that he sent on March 6, two days after his transplant, captured his monthlong mood: "TD on opening drive," he wrote.
The post-transplant stretch was a rare ray of sunshine during a journey that began on July 16, 2025. Papa was diagnosed last summer with acute lymphoblastic leukemia that was discovered in his brain and spinal column. He became ill when he was vacationing in France. The news was delivered by a doctor who spoke limited English.
"I understood one of every five words, but he said ‘leukemia,'" Papa said. "That was crystal clear."
Papa was hospitalized for 23 days, the first 11 in France, and lost 20 pounds over one three-day stretch. A hematologist told him 12 days after he was diagnosed that it would be a challenge to keep him alive for three years. That ominous timeline sounded optimistic on the nights Papa drifted asleep wondering whether he'd ever wake up.
But Papa returned home. He had two rounds of chemotherapy. He went into remission. He called the 49ers' regular-season finale, a loss to the Seahawks at Levi's Stadium on Jan. 3, with a catheter in his arm that provided an uninterrupted stream of immunotherapy drugs.
Niners radio announcer Greg Papa on the sidelines before the regular season finale against the Seattle Seahawks at Levi's Stadium on Jan. 3. It was Papa's first game back after undergoing treatment for acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which was diagnosed before the season. (Carlos Avila Gonzalez/S.F. Chronicle)
"That took a lot out of me," Papa said. "Afterward, I thought: ‘Why did you do that?'"
This spring, nearly a month after his transplant, the four-time California Sportscaster of the Year was excitedly asking himself whether he could comfortably return for the 2026 season.
Then he was leveled by a cascade of health crises.
On April 4, Papa was rushed to a Marin County emergency room and spent two days in ICU after he coll...
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