Senior Yearbook Photo 1974
Obituary published in the Williamsport Sun Gazette Friday, December 11, 2009 (link)
Elizabeth O. "Beth" Spotts, 53, of Hughesville died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville surrounded by her loving family.
She was born May 28, 1956, in Williamsport, a daughter of the late Robert R. and Mary (Fox) Odell, Jr.
June 27, 1992 she married John "Jack" Spotts, who survives.
She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Hughesville. Beth graduated from Hughesville High School, Class of 1974 and Bloomsburg University in 1978, with a degree in communications and English. She was a 27-year employee at Data Papers, Muncy, currently serving as vice-president of sales. She had served as treasurer of the East Lycoming School District and been active with the Hughesville High School football booster club. Beth loved shopping and redecorating.
In addition to her husband of 17 years, she is survived by a son, B.J. (Janee) Smith, Hughesville; a sister, Christie O. (James) Foresman, Hughesville; five step-children, Terry (Larry) Sheats, Loganton; John (Debbie) Spotts, Loganville, Ga.; Stephanie Spotts, Dallas, Ga.; Dan (Kim) Spotts, Salisbury, Md. and Dana (Sharon) Spotts, Dallas, Ga.; and eight step-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Monday in the Trinity Lutheran Church, 122 S. Main St., Hughesville with Rev. Eric L. Deibler officiating. The interment will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
The family will receive friends Sunday in the McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home, 557 E. Water St., Hughesville, from 6 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Trinity Lutheran Church, 122 S. Main St., Hughesville, PA 17737 or to East Lycoming Football Boosters, c/o Rene Laycher, 274 S. Main St., Hughesville, PA 17737.
Elizabeth O. "Beth" Spotts, 53, of Hughesville died Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 at Geisinger Medical Center, Danville surrounded by her loving family.
She was born May 28, 1956, in Williamsport, a daughter of the late Robert R. and Mary (Fox) Odell, Jr.
June 27, 1992 she married John "Jack" Spotts, who survives.
She was a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Hughesville. Beth graduated from Hughesville High School, Class of 1974 and Bloomsburg University in 1978, with a degree in communications and English. She was a 27-year employee at Data Papers, Muncy, currently serving as vice-president of sales. She had served as treasurer of the East Lycoming School District and been active with the Hughesville High School football booster club. Beth loved shopping and redecorating.
In addition to her husband of 17 years, she is survived by a son, B.J. (Janee) Smith, Hughesville; a sister, Christie O. (James) Foresman, Hughesville; five step-children, Terry (Larry) Sheats, Loganton; John (Debbie) Spotts, Loganville, Ga.; Stephanie Spotts, Dallas, Ga.; Dan (Kim) Spotts, Salisbury, Md. and Dana (Sharon) Spotts, Dallas, Ga.; and eight step-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Monday in the Trinity Lutheran Church, 122 S. Main St., Hughesville with Rev. Eric L. Deibler officiating. The interment will be in the Pleasant Hill Cemetery.
The family will receive friends Sunday in the McCarty-Thomas Funeral Home, 557 E. Water St., Hughesville, from 6 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Trinity Lutheran Church, 122 S. Main St., Hughesville, PA 17737 or to East Lycoming Football Boosters, c/o Rene Laycher, 274 S. Main St., Hughesville, PA 17737.
The article below (published Oct. 2009) describes Beth's battle with the disease that took her from us.
A Rare Tale of Survival
Local woman beats cancer of the pancreas
By MIKE REUTHER - mreuther@sungazette.com
Published in the Williamsport Sun Gazette on October 13, 2009 (link)
Pancreatic cancer is a disease that rarely displays symptoms in its early stages and is without a standard for screening. Just 20 percent of people diagnosed with it live more than a year, and fewer than 5 percent survive for five years, according to the American Cancer Society.
Beth Spotts, 53, of Hughesville was one of the lucky ones.
She didn't know she even had pancreatic cancer when she began experiencing abdominal pain. A CAT Scan revealed what initially was believed to be a cyst on her pancreas. A subsequent biopsy turned up benign. Later, when the stomach pain refused to subside, she was referred to Geisinger Medical Center to have the growth drained. It was decided not to drain it, but to remove it. A few days later, she got the news she had pancreatic cancer.
"It (cancer) had grown around many of my other organs," Spotts said. "It had shut off the blood supply to my spleen. It started to form an alternate spleen. They got everything they could except around the aorta. They had found a malignant tumor inside a blood vessel that they removed. My lymph nodes were all clear."
Spotts's cancer had reached Stage II, which sometimes is treatable. However, with Stage III, or locally advanced cancer, the cancer has spread to surrounding lymph nodes and even into blood vessels. At that point, the cancer cannot entirely be removed from the body. Among the big reasons pancreatic cancer poses such a low survival rate is that the cancer is not confined to one organ.
"Patients are inoperable who have locally advanced cancer," noted Dr. Thanjavur Ravikumar of Geisinger Medical Center.
Pancreatic cancer, he said, is "a disease involving the pancreas, an organ that helps secrete digestive enzymes. Cancer can be from cells that secrete digestive enzymes, or cells that secrete hormones."
Treatment options, following successful surgery, often involve chemotherapy and radiation, he noted. Spotts said she is doing well after undergoing both treatment options earlier this year.
She is even back to work part-time at Data Papers, Muncy. In a few weeks, she expects to undergo one last round of chemotherapy before being finished with treatment. "I have been very, very lucky," she said, acknowledging that most people with the disease usually die.
Here are the grim facts of pancreatic cancer:
It claims the lives of about 30,000 people annually.
The disease spreads rapidly and if not found early, it simply cannot be treated.
It is the fourth leading cause of all cancer deaths.
It has the worst survival rate of all cancers.
Common symptoms of pancreatic cancer are yellowing skin, loss of appetite, weight loss, upper abdominal pain and depression.
Ravikumar noted that because the disease rarely displays symptoms until its advanced stages, it becomes untreatable for many people. "Having a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer is a very big challenge," Ravikumar said. Smoking, an unhealthy lifestyle and heavy alcohol use pose high-risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Ravikumar said he seems to be seeing an increased number of patients with pancreatic cancer in recent years. The large population of smokers and growing numbers of obese or overweight people in the region could well be the reason, he noted.
"One thing we can do is quit smoking," he said. "We can exercise and keep a healthy lifestyle. These are the things we can do to help ourselves." The disease is more prevalent among blacks than whites.
Local woman beats cancer of the pancreas
By MIKE REUTHER - mreuther@sungazette.com
Published in the Williamsport Sun Gazette on October 13, 2009 (link)
Pancreatic cancer is a disease that rarely displays symptoms in its early stages and is without a standard for screening. Just 20 percent of people diagnosed with it live more than a year, and fewer than 5 percent survive for five years, according to the American Cancer Society.
Beth Spotts, 53, of Hughesville was one of the lucky ones.
She didn't know she even had pancreatic cancer when she began experiencing abdominal pain. A CAT Scan revealed what initially was believed to be a cyst on her pancreas. A subsequent biopsy turned up benign. Later, when the stomach pain refused to subside, she was referred to Geisinger Medical Center to have the growth drained. It was decided not to drain it, but to remove it. A few days later, she got the news she had pancreatic cancer.
"It (cancer) had grown around many of my other organs," Spotts said. "It had shut off the blood supply to my spleen. It started to form an alternate spleen. They got everything they could except around the aorta. They had found a malignant tumor inside a blood vessel that they removed. My lymph nodes were all clear."
Spotts's cancer had reached Stage II, which sometimes is treatable. However, with Stage III, or locally advanced cancer, the cancer has spread to surrounding lymph nodes and even into blood vessels. At that point, the cancer cannot entirely be removed from the body. Among the big reasons pancreatic cancer poses such a low survival rate is that the cancer is not confined to one organ.
"Patients are inoperable who have locally advanced cancer," noted Dr. Thanjavur Ravikumar of Geisinger Medical Center.
Pancreatic cancer, he said, is "a disease involving the pancreas, an organ that helps secrete digestive enzymes. Cancer can be from cells that secrete digestive enzymes, or cells that secrete hormones."
Treatment options, following successful surgery, often involve chemotherapy and radiation, he noted. Spotts said she is doing well after undergoing both treatment options earlier this year.
She is even back to work part-time at Data Papers, Muncy. In a few weeks, she expects to undergo one last round of chemotherapy before being finished with treatment. "I have been very, very lucky," she said, acknowledging that most people with the disease usually die.
Here are the grim facts of pancreatic cancer:
It claims the lives of about 30,000 people annually.
The disease spreads rapidly and if not found early, it simply cannot be treated.
It is the fourth leading cause of all cancer deaths.
It has the worst survival rate of all cancers.
Common symptoms of pancreatic cancer are yellowing skin, loss of appetite, weight loss, upper abdominal pain and depression.
Ravikumar noted that because the disease rarely displays symptoms until its advanced stages, it becomes untreatable for many people. "Having a patient with metastatic pancreatic cancer is a very big challenge," Ravikumar said. Smoking, an unhealthy lifestyle and heavy alcohol use pose high-risk factors for pancreatic cancer. Ravikumar said he seems to be seeing an increased number of patients with pancreatic cancer in recent years. The large population of smokers and growing numbers of obese or overweight people in the region could well be the reason, he noted.
"One thing we can do is quit smoking," he said. "We can exercise and keep a healthy lifestyle. These are the things we can do to help ourselves." The disease is more prevalent among blacks than whites.
