KOMO-TV's Goertzen to have surgery a 4th time

KOMO-TV's Kathi Goertzen, who has been battling a brain tumor for a decade, faces another surgery now that doctors have discovered the tumor has grown since an operation in the spring.

In early April, she underwent her third surgery in 10 years, followed by experimental-drug treatment.

In a message posted Thursday on a KOMO-TV Web site, Goertzen, one of the most recognizable broadcasters in town, wrote: "I am so sorry to have to tell you this again. I have had a recurrence of my brain tumor. The experimental drug I used following my recent surgery was not successful and the tumor has grown back."

In the message, Goertzen said she is scheduled for surgery next Wednesday to remove as much of the noncancerous tumor as possible. The surgery, she said, will be followed by radiation treatment.

"Though this is discouraging news for me and my family, I have faith that I'll be O.K. and am confident in the team of doctors I have working for me," she wrote.

Doctors had been optimistic after the last surgery because more of the tumor had been removed than they initially thought possible.

But Goertzen's longtime co-anchor Dan Lewis said the tiny bit doctors did not take out in April has grown enough that surgery is needed again.

The plan, Lewis said, is to get as much of the tumor as possible, then try to knock out the rest with radiation.

Goertzen, 50, and a Seattle native, has been at KOMO-TV for nearly three decades. She had most recently co-anchored the 5, 6 and 11 p.m. nightly newscasts.

In a videotaped message disclosing the plans for surgery, Lewis said: "We have all prayed for Kathi before, and it is time to do it again."

Goertzen and Lewis have anchored the evening newscasts for 20 years.

Charles Brown 206-464-2206 or cbrown@seattletimes.com