GOSHEN, Ky. — Pattie Koth is one step closer to beating breast cancer after 16 rounds of chemotherapy.
She was tipped off about her stage three breast cancer diagnosis after getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
If you ask her, it wasn’t the sixteen rounds of chemotherapy that kept her feeling well. She says the best medicine has been teaching her fifth and sixth graders.
Pattie Koth hasn’t always taken her dog to school to with her.
The classroom assistant is tiny in size and by name, but big on cuteness.
Before she joined Koth at school, Tiny was the teacher's sidekick during chemotherapy treatments.
“She just sits in the infusion chair with me and really just goes I think just for the warm blanket and she takes her little nap while I work on my computer usually grading papers,” says Koth. “Tiny just made it easier for me to relax and it didn’t seem as bad as it was.”
Her students had a lot of non-math related questions for her after finding out her cancer.
“The kids didn’t believe that I was wearing a wig, but it is real hair if that means anything,” says Koth.
Eli Williams recently transferred to St. Francis School. He says Mrs. Koth the school feels like home.
He says she made fractions as easy as 3.14 and motivated him to try out for the basketball team.
“Her jokes are funny. She’s just kind, caring. She cares about me and my class” says Williams.
He took the news about her cancer especially hard. The fifth grader lost a cousin he admired to cancer.
“I was afraid that would also happen just like that. I just don’t want that to happen, but either way I still work harder for her,” says Williams.
While he works hard in the class and on the court, Koth worked hard to be in class for her students.
On Wednesday mornings she sat through up to 3 hours of chemo and then headed to school.
“Since the beginning of the year I’ve missed three days, two of those were because I was on vacation so I just keep coming back like a bad penny,” says Koth.
To her students, she is worth more than gold.
“Dear Mrs. Koth, I appreciate your patience as a teacher. I also appreciate your bravery in fighting cancer. You’re strong and brave and often underestimated. You’re great at making math fun and challenging. Sincerely Alex,” read a letter written to her from a student.
Koth first received love letters back in May and they never stopped coming.
Koth says the continuous flow of love letters and support from students keep her in high spirits on her journey.
“Is it hard to get up and come to work everyday? I would say no because I love my student,” says Koth. “Seeing their expression even though it's through a mask is really something that helps me get through each and every day.”
Of course, nothing beats the light bulb moments of students when she’s teaching fractions.
“We know that’s hard for 5th and 6th graders but when they finally get it, it’s certainly a reason to wake up the next day and do it again,” says Koth.
Now that she is finished with chemotherapy treatments, Koth will undergo a single mastectomy on Dec. 1st.
She will return to school after the new year, but if her students need her before then, she’ll only be a phone or zoom call away.
After surgery, Koth will go through five months of radiation.
She plans to complete those treatments before or after school.