Graduation Bittersweet As Couple's Focus Shifts To Wife's Battle With Breast Cancer

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Bittersweet feelings poured out at a graduation ceremony on Friday, as a technical college graduate is beginning a new phase in his life, while his wife has been fighting for her own life for years.

It's a new beginning for Brenten Barmettler. After his construction career slowed during the recession, he decided to go back to school and learn to fix diesel rigs, a job in demand.

"I'm pretty excited today," he said. "It's a big change for me."

With the excitement also comes a flood of emotion. His wife Lisa has Stage 4 breast cancer she's been fighting for four years. She's gone through chemotherapy, radiation treatments and lost her hair three times.

"I was what they consider clear for 8 months, and then I had routine scans and it had basically just exploded through my body," she said.

Doctors give her six months to love.

But Lisa and Brenten don't believe in statistics.

"I should have died a year-and-a-half ago, so statistics are just something that somebody has compiled," she said.

Their love story is like something out of a novel. They met when they were 12 and married at 18.

"You can't get a better guy and he's mine," she said.

She's in awe of his dedication to not only take care of her day in and day out, but also his determination to stick to his new career path and pull a 4.0 at University Technical Institute.

They both know it wasn't easy.

"I would stop for a minute and think well, what was the reason to go to school to learn something new?" he said. "It was so I could provide to my family."

After graduation, he plans on taking some time off so they can travel. Hawaii is first on their list.

"One of my bucket lists, I want to stay in a nice hotel that has a bedspread that is not scratchy or you have to worry about who's laid on it," she said.

Six months ago, Lisa didn't think she'd get to see Brenten graduate. But now that school is out of the way, they will simply focus on their time together.

"No matter how long that future is, we're going to make the most of it," he said.