Patrick Swayze has Pancreatic Cancer!

[PirateLover]

Swayze's publicist issued the following statement to media outlets:

"Actor Patrick Swayze has been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and is currently undergoing treatment. Patrick's physician Dr. George Fisher states, 'Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far. All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic.' Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects. The outpouring of support and concern he has already received from the public is deeply appreciated by Patrick and his family."

[Disneyatic]

I just read about this. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. I had the biggest crush on him when Dirty Dancing came out and my DD has just discovered this moving and how great it is!
I read on another site that someone said he had "only weeks to live" I hope that isn't true.

[Disneymom4ever]

That is so so sad! I really hope and pray for the best for him and his family.

[KarenP]

Oh no! I am so sad to hear this. I loved him in Dirty Dancing.

[jillluvsdisney]

What sad news.

[Hull-onian]

Patrick reminds me of someone who is very strong physically, mentally, and very spiritual. We send out our prayers to his family. He must stay strong for himself and his family during this trying time.

[RedSoxFan]

This is so sad. Dirty Dancing is one of my favorite movies.:(

[MNNHFLTX]

Oh no.... :(

I so hope and pray that they caught it early. I get a bit nervous hearing that he's undergoing treatment, but that he's continuing his normal schedule. The best option if they caught it early is surgery and if they aren't doing that it makes me think it's more advanced than they say.

My mother died of this disease and I know so many people that have also been affected by it. It is such an aggressive type of cancer. :(

[Melanie]

This is so sad, and I don't feel very optimistic after reading Beth's post. Let's hope they did catch it early!

[PirateLover]

My mother died of this disease and I know so many people that have also been affected by it. It is such an aggressive type of cancer. :(

:( I'm sorry for you loss. My friend's father also died of this disease. I know that it can go so far so fast that it's often not diagnosed in time to do anything. My friend's father was admitted to the hospital, diagnosed 2 days later, and died a week and a half later. I love Patrick Swayze, he's just one of those classically handsome actors. I hope he pulls through this.

[Flower]

It is very sad news.

My father also died of pancreatic cancer, within 6 weeks of his diagnosis he passed away :cry: For this reason whenever I hear of someone with PC I think of it as am immediate death sentence. I know there are so many advances in medicine, but it is such an aggressive cancer.

Now that being said, I have a friend who was diagnosed with it early, he was around 35 when diagnosed and that was about 4 years ago.

Good luck Patrick

[LibertyTreeGal]

The reason they came out with it is because the "weeks to live" story isn't true.
-----------------------------------

"Dirty Dancing" star Patrick Swayze has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — one of the most fatal forms of the disease — and is currently undergoing treatment, a representative for the actor said Wednesday in a written statement.

The statement followed a report earlier in the day by the National Enquirer that said Swayze, 55, had five weeks to live because doctors in late January had diagnosed pancreatic cancer that had spread to other organs.

Swayze’s rep issued a statement Wednesday after the report began circulating, claiming the star is continuing his normal work schedule, and Swayze’s doctor said the reports of Swayze's imminent death are unfounded.

“Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far. All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic,” Swayze’s physician Dr. George A. Fisher said in a statement. Fisher is an associate professor teaching at Stanford University Cancer Center and is involved in many experimental cancer treatments.

Caught in its advanced stages, pancreatic cancer, which strikes about 30,000 people a year, has a less-than 5 percent survival rate for five years. If caught early and treated aggressively with surgery and chemotherapy — and, if the cancer has not spread to lymph nodes — the five-year survival rate can go as high as 17 to 25 percent, said Dr. Avram Cooperman, surgical director for the Pancreas and Biliary Center at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Manhattan.

It was not known whether Swayze had undergone surgery to remove the cancer or if any surgery was planned.

Swayze's mother told E! News she knows her son is sick.

"I don't really want to talk about it, but I know he's sick," Patsy Swayze said. "But he has great doctors and a great prognosis, and that's all I can say."

For the past month, Swayze, has been traveling to Stanford University Cancer Center in Palo Alto for radical chemotherapy, the Enquirer reported, which also quoted sources as saying he had received three doses of chemotherapy. The tumor shrank, but less than his doctors had hoped for, the Enquirer reported.

[TheDuckRocks]

This is indeed very sad to hear. Even with the additional information this still doesn't sound very good. My prayers are with him and his family at this time.

[MNNHFLTX]

I don't pay any attention to the "weeks to live" scenario--I've taken care of enough cancer patients to know that most doctors would never issue an edict like that and there is no crystal ball to know exactly how long a person can live with a particular cancer. My concerns are that the kind of surgery that Patrick Swayze would need (if the cancer is caught early) is very, very extensive surgery. It would have been hard to hide it from the public. And even the most advanced chemotherapy in clinical trials right now has not been shown to be very effective.

That's the frustrating thing about pancreatic cancer--there is very little that can be done to screen for it, and symptoms usually do not show up until it is advanced. And there is little on the horizon right now in the medical field to change this. Besides my mom, my FIL also was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer last year (he had surgery) and if you ask around almost everyone has been touched by it.

Sorry for being on a :soapbox: I have strong feelings about it for obvious reasons. That said, my prayers are with Patrick Swayze. He is just so young yet to have to face this.

[Melanie]

Man, I just saw a pic of Patrick at the Lakers game the other day, and he just doesn't look good. :(

[Goofster]

My father was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in April 1998 and died October 27, 1998. He was only 44. It's extremely agressive and by the time he started having symptoms, it had already spread to his liver.

[Queen Stephanie]

May God bless him.

[MNNHFLTX]

Man, I just saw a pic of Patrick at the Lakers game the other day, and he just doesn't look good. :(I saw that picture too, Mel, and he did look much more gaunt than he had before. Ironically, the reporter stated that he (Swayze) looked "spry" and showed "no ill effects" of his disease or treatment. I was like--what??
:confused:

[Young@Heart]

My prayers are with him.

[Niecyboo]

I just saw something that seems like a good sign. Patrick Swayze is about to begin shooting a new cable drama. Apparently he shot the pilot before being diagnosed, but now he (and A&E) feel confident enough with his treatment to begin filming 13 episodes.

What an amazing man.