Dr. Whitaker received his undergraduate degree and Doctor of Medicine from Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska. He then completed an internship at Mount Carmel Hospital in Detroit, Michigan. Following this, he completed an internal medicine residency and hematology subspecialty at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester; Minnesota.

He then served in the army as Chief of the Outpatient Department at Brooke General Hospital for two years. Following this, he returned to the Mayo Clinic as an associate consultant in hematology and oncology. In 1965 he moved to Austin, Texas, to become the first oncologist in the city. Subsequently, he served as Chief of Staff at Holy Cross Hospital in Austin for two years and founded the People’s Free Clinic, which he ran for three years beginning in 1969.

Dr. Whitaker served for five years as a special consultant to the Oncology Drugs Advisory Committee of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. He is a published author and a member of several professional organizations including the American Cancer Society, the Texas Medical Association, the American Medical Association, and the Mayo Clinic Alumni Association. He is in active clinical research in private practice with the Southwest Regional Cancer Center in Austin. Dr. Whitaker is board certified in internal medicine and medical oncology.