SEATTLE, Wash.  (Metro)  -- Kathi Goertzen, a longtime anchor for KOMO-TV news in Seattle, has died at the age of 54. 

Goertzen died today after suffering from recurring brain tumors and undergoing multiple surgeries over the past few years. 

She joined KOMO in 1979 as an intern from Washington State University and began full-time with the station after graduating the following year. 

Goertzen, who was a graduate of Seattle's Queen Anne High School, began her TV career as a reporter and worked her way to the anchor desk two years later. 

She was first diagnosed with a non-cancerous tumor in 1998. 

Goertzen is survived by her husband, her two daughters, and her parents.

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