Posted on 09/19/2005 6:53:40 PM PDT by paulat
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/paynter/241053_paynter17.html
KOMO's Goertzen goes another round with tumor Saturday, September 17, 2005
By SUSAN PAYNTER SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER COLUMNIST
For the second time in seven years, KOMO/4 news anchor Kathi Goertzen had to deliver some bad medical news about herself on Friday's broadcast.
The brain tumor, which was almost but not entirely removed in November 1998, has grown back. On Tuesday, with her husband and daughters waiting nearby and loyal viewers hoping for the best, she will again undergo the meticulous microsurgery required to remove a mass called an "aggressive meningioma."
"They don't call it benign but it's not malignant, either," Goertzen said.
Goertzen Like last time, the tumor will be excised through a silver dollar-size opening in Goertzen's skull, just behind her right ear.
"I had hoped and prayed that it wouldn't come back," Goertzen said. The growth had been considered "intermediate" in terms of the likelihood to recur. And this time, its return was stealthy. No symptoms of hearing loss in her right ear or numbness in her cheek signaled trouble. Still, there it was on the MRI scans, growing and refusing to respond to the drug treatments she tried.
Next, Goertzen had hoped the tumor could be beaten with radiation alone. But no such luck. "Before they're able to do any more radiation it needs to be smaller, so they have to go back in," she said.
In her 25 years at KOMO/4 -- most of them as co-anchor with Dan Lewis -- Goertzen, who is now 47, has asked thousands of medical questions for the specials she has reported.
The daughter of former University of Washington Medical Center administrator Irma Goertzen, such questions seemed only natural when the aim wasn't a report but her very own prognosis.
She learned so many lessons, she said. And one of them was that it's pointless to ask, "Why me?" and "Why again? Wasn't once enough?"
"I've been over to Fred Hutch (Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) so many times and seen some of the very exciting work they're doing with pediatric brain tumors. If I can just hang on long enough, maybe they'll find some answers in 10 years or so to what causes this in children."
Meanwhile, as Goertzen sat waiting to see doctors, she watched little children coping with the unknown. "So many people face much, much worse than this," she said.
And, with family plus thousands of dedicated viewers, she's hardly facing it alone.
Yes, sometimes the line between support and intrusion can be a thin one to walk while guarding her family's privacy, Goertzen admits. But viewers followed her through two pregnancies on the air and saw the baby pictures. So, just as ABC News anchor Peter Jennings shared some of his battle with lung cancer, Goertzen figures it's healthy both for her and her viewers to learn something from the hard knocks that happen to everyone.
She remembers how she felt when she first got her diagnosis. So Goertzen has welcomed countless conversations with others steeling themselves for surgery. "It's why I always try to make myself available to talk," she said. "Now, I'm just trying to remember my own advice."
This time, at least her girls are older. Last time Alexa was 9 and Andrea only 3. This time they are 16 and 10 and ready to help their mom.
Last time, Goertzen candidly said the experience drew her and her husband, KOMO account executive Rick Jewett, even closer. And her mom and dad and three sisters pulled their support net tightly around her.
She expects the same to be true again.
And she isn't worried that her audience won't respect her boundaries.
"Not at all," Goertzen said. "Besides, it's just not like me to hide."
Seven years ago Goertzen received more than 3,000 e-mails plus get-well cards and calls. And she drew on that well whenever she got thirsty for support.
Some people wondered things like whether her hair would grow back.
Others sought medical information and Goertzen was unblinkingly honest.
The network of nerves to which the tumor is attached controls her swallowing, voice and larynx and some facial muscles -- in other words, the tools news anchors need.
The first tumor was the size of a golf ball but this one is slightly smaller.
Last time, the surgeons couldn't get every speck without seriously endangering function. And they may not this time, either.
But, although the first recovery was no gambol at Green Lake and Goertzen experienced difficulty swallowing, she eventually came back "about 90 percent." And, since that time, she understands that the radiation part has improved.
She'll spend five or six days in the hospital, then the rest recovering at home. Then she fully expects to be back on the air, although no one is offering guarantees about how long this recovery will take.
While she's mending, Goertzen doesn't worry that viewers won't be every bit as "wonderfully supportive" and welcoming as they were seven years ago.
Back then, in what she calls the "tough moments" of her eight-week recovery, she would stretch out on her Queen Anne Hill couch with Alexa and Andrea and read those cards and letters.
"They lifted me up," Goertzen said. "Sometimes people are afraid because they don't know what to say. But I say, just talk to me."
CONTACTING KATHI E-mail to KOMO 4 anchor Kathi Goertzen can be sent to:
Kathiwishes@komo4news.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Susan Paynter's column appears Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Call her at 206-448-8392 or send e-mail to susanpaynter@seattlepi.com.
© 1998-2005 Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Dear Lord,
Please Embrace this Dear Women in Your Bright Light of Grace and Wellness ,so she may fully recover to live a full and long life.Thank You Lord ,Amen.
Praying and bumping.
Thank you. Just got word that the surgery is tomorrow morning.
Prayers and good wishes going out for her and all her loved ones.
We come together as a body of believers to lift up Kathi to You for Your powerful healing and restoration. We ask, Lord, that You would be the hands of the surgeon as this operation takes place. Destroy all that would destroy her, Father, and breathe life and health into every cell in her body. Give her the confidence of knowing that You will perfect everything that concerns her, and that You will again bring blessings to her in the midst of this trial. Thank You for the loving support of her family. May Your peace surround them and may Your love sustain them. In the Name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Prayers are needed.
Prayers offered up for this woman, who seems to be a rare jewel in the television news business.
That is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read
!
Amen! Thanks for the ping, Faith.
I am going to make sure this is passed off to Kathi...LOL...that the "right-wingers" care about her and wish her well!!!
I think there is a prayer ping...if there is...we could use your help for this lady. Surgery early tomorrow.
Sending prayers
She is in my thoughts and prayers. I can only imagine what she must be going through in her mind. May she find her inner peace and strength, and may it carry her through these difficult times.
Prayers for her and will seek prayers from my Bible study group tomorrow....
Prayers for this fine and courageous woman.
I'll remember Kathi tomorrow and will be praying for her.
Prayers offered.
I haven't watched TV news (local or national)in years, but Kathi always seemed to be warm and genuine. Dealing with this once should be enough, it seems a shame that's it's returned and she has to face the surgery and rehab again.
My thoughts and prayers are with her.
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