Lerner Enterprises principal Mark Lerner, also a principal owner of the Washington Nationals, is recovering from a bout with cancer that began in January.

In a letter published in the Washington Post Thursday evening, Lerner said he had to have his left leg amputated following complications that arose from an April surgery that successfully removed his cancer.

Doctors in early January discovered Lerner had spindle cell sarcoma above the knee on his left leg. After completing radiation treatments in March, he had surgery in April to remove the cancer. The surgery was successful, but issues arose from the radiation treatments that prevented the wound from healing. He had his left leg removed in early August and is now healing, with plans to be fitted for a prosthetic.

One of Washington's most storied real estate families, the Lerners have a vast portfolio of properties throughout the District, plus large holdings in Tysons, Loudoun and Montgomery County. The company sparked what is now one of the hottest neighborhoods in the city after buying the Washington Nationals in 2006 and building a stadium near the Navy Yard Metro station. The Capitol Riverfront neighborhood is now the epicenter of D.C.'s development boom with several multifamily and office projects in the works.