Photos by Rob Varela / Star staff Former Santa Paula High School principal Tony Gaitan, left, who was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer last year, is now back at the district office and was promoted to director of educational services.

"It was all about timing, and it made me think I am supposed to be here," Gaitan said of his new district position.

On any given day at Santa Paula High School, Principal Paul Marietti can be seen walking around campus with his predecessor, Tony Gaitan.

Marietti, who took over as principal in February, said he looks toward the veteran educator as a mentor and often visits Gaitan's new office, which is still on campus.

"I think we share a similar belief system as far as education is concerned," Marietti said. "His door is always open, and I value that."

Open communication and mutual respect for one another is what made the transition to their new positions much easier, both said. However, for Gaitan — who had held the principal position at Santa Paula High for 11 years — the change came at a difficult period in his life.

It was almost two years ago, at his biannual physical, that Gaitan's physician noticed some irregularities in his blood.

Then 54 years old, Gaitan was expecting to get a clean bill of health. Instead, his doctor referred him to a hematologist.

"I was feeling fine," he said. "It was just supposed to be a routine check. Then another test showed my protein level was high."

After additional tests, the specialist diagnosed Gaitan with Multiple Myeloma, a form of cancer that affects plasma cells in the bone marrow.

"The first time you hear something like that, you just kind of sit in the (doctor's) office," he said. "Everything was blurry. I was just so shocked because I felt fine. I wasn't tired I didn't have any pains. I had none of the symptoms."

His doctors immediately decided to place Gaitan on a medication to prevent the cancer from spreading.

Although he did not keep it a secret, Gaitan said he didn't announce his illness to his staff.

Marietti, who was assistant principal at the time, said Gaitan continued to perform his duties.

"If you were to talk to him, you never once would hear him complain," Marietti said. "He made no excuses. He wanted to continue his job."

After a year on medication, Gaitan's physicians suggested he consider a bone marrow and peripheral blood stem cell transplant.

Gaitan decided to undergo the treatment after he saw the graduation for the Class of 2007.

For about two months, Gaitan went back and forth for chemotherapy treatments at Cedars-Sinai Outpatient Cancer Center in Los Angeles. It was a tough time for the veteran educator.

Under this procedure, doctors harvested Gaitan's own stem cells. Blood is removed through a large vein with a catheter. The blood then goes through a machine that removes the stem cells, which are frozen and later given to the patient.

Gaitan would spend at least six hours for each treatment as the machine collected his stem cells.

Gaitan told his wife that if "things got worse," she should call Santa Paula Union High School District Superintendent David Gomez.

"Being a high school principal was something that I enjoyed," Gaitan said as he quickly wiped away some tears. "The teachers and the students here are so great. I really didn't want to tell the staff until I was sure I would go through the transplant. If people did ask, I would share it with them. There was a lot of support."

Meanwhile, Marietti, after 18 years in education, was named interim principal of Santa Paula High in July. The first few months were difficult, Marietti, 39, said.

"I was in no man's land," Marietti said. "I was an assistant principal, but I was acting as principal. I felt like it was still Mr. Gaitan's school. It was tough not knowing what was going to happen."

While Gaitan took off about three months to recover from his treatment, it was decided that Marietti would permanently take over the principal position in February. When the district's director of educational services position opened up with Teri Gern's departure, the Santa Paula Union High School board approved Gaitan for the position.

"It was a new challenge for me," Marietti said. "As an assistant principal, your job is to understand the principal's vision, and you have to be in tune to that. However, with two years as assistant principal, I felt that I was ready. I had to create my vision and establish my own expectations."

Some of the goals Marietti hopes to achieve during his tenure include creating a college-bound atmosphere among students to increase the number of students who make a seamless transition to a CSU or UC campus.

Marietti also hopes to increase parent involvement.

His cancer now in remission, Gaitan also dove into his new administrative position. He credits the support from his family and staff as his pillars of strength.

"It was all about timing, and it made me think I am supposed to be here," Gaitan said. "The part I love most about working with Paul and the team here is that we are all working together to move the school forward."