Heroes come in all kinds. Some demonstrate courage fighting a life-threatening disease. Some offer their bodies for a cure.

And some fix plates of spaghetti.

Friends and co-workers of Karen Chandler, a 50-year-old office manager at Hanby Middle School who is battling leukemia, are rallying to her aid with a big spaghetti feed and concert Tuesday night in Central Point.

It’s one of several ways the school is raising money for the Medford woman whose financial resources are quickly running out. In the hospital since Nov. 1, she will undergo a bone marrow transplant at the end of the month. Her last payday was in October.

Hanby Principal Sheila Henson said volunteers at her school have been raising money to help defray Chandler’s increasing medical expenses and lost income. Students have chipped in with bottle and can drives.

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"Her husband is disabled," Henson said. "They really depend on Karen’s income."

Checks and cash are collected through the school in Gold Hill, said Henson. The proceeds are given to Chandler at the end of each month.

"She’s such a strong, caring person," said Henson. "She worked last year when she was too sick to really be here. But she draws strength from us, from the kids."

Lori Hettman is one of five Hanby moms organizing Tuesday’s fund-raising spaghetti dinner, concert and raffle at Crater High School Auditorium.

"Sheila called and brought me up to speed on Karen’s condition," said Hettman, whose fourth child is still attending the school. "My daughter knows her. She means so much to everybody."

Chandler said she’s grateful for the assistance. "One month they sent me $300," she said. "And some scarves and things for my hair that’s falling out."

While she appreciated the scarves, Chandler’s immediate needs are mostly financial. On top of lost wages, Chandler’s medical insurance coverage will jump to $800 a month, she said.

"I just don’t have that kind of money," she said. "And I need the insurance to keep the treatment coverage. I can do it for a month or two, and then...."

Hettman said the dinner and concert would benefit not only Chandler, but the students as well.

"The school gets to perform in this beautiful new (auditorium)," she said. "And the performance is free.

"Let’s hope a lot of people come."

Benefit for Chandler

When: 5 p.m. Tuesday at Crater High School Student Center, 4410 N. Rogue Valley Blvd., Central Point.

Tickets: $5 for adults and $3 for kids under 12. The dinner is being held before the school’s band and choir concert, which begins at 7 p.m.

Donations: May be sent to Hanby Middle School, Karen’s Fund, 806 Sixth Ave., Gold Hill, OR 97525.

Karen Chandler waits at OHSU for bone marrow

"They told me I had leukemia," said Chandler, who is now undergoing chemotherapy. She spoke by telephone last week from her hospital room at the Oregon Health & Science University in Portland.

The office manager at Hanby Middle School was immediately treated with a new cancer drug that worked well to keep the disease in remission — for one and a half years.

Then it stopped working. And none of the other drugs doctors tried worked, either.

"They told me it was time for a bone-marrow transplant," she said.

Chandler’s cancer is proving stubborn. While chemotherapy is keeping the disease under control for now, doctors say her best chance for a cure is a transplant.

That means finding a compatible bone marrow donor whose healthy, immature stem cells can replace Chandler’s diseased ones. The strictly matched donor’s cells would have the capacity to grow into normal blood cells once transplanted into Chandler’s body, doctors say.

Only 30 percent of eligible adults with leukemia are lucky enough to have a compatible family donor. In spite of having close family members — including her three adult sons — Chandler is not in that group.

Only 20 percent of the remaining leukemia patients are able to find a matching donor from non-familial sources.

As Chandler’s search for a donor went national, then international, odds increased against her recovery. But, finally, she was one of the lucky ones.

"They found a 24-year-old healthy woman in Europe, and that’s all they would tell us," said Chandler’s older sister, Linda Elder, who calls Chandler at least twice a day.

Except for a brief visit over Thanksgiving, Chandler has been in the hospital since Nov. 1.

"They sent me home," said Chandler. "Then they discovered the (cancer) cells weren’t going away so I’m here for the duration."

Doctors are getting Chandler’s body ready to receive the transplant, which is scheduled for the end of the month.

"Christmas is pretty much out for me this year," she said.

Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.