Patrick Swayze, 57, Succumbs to Pancreatic Cancer

First it was “Dirty Dancing” then it was “Ghost”, and Patrick Swayze danced his way into every girl’s heart (including mine) who wished to find the same sensible and sensual man that Swayze portrayed in his films. So it’s with such a loss that tonight, Swayze’s publicist announced that the actor had died.

After battling a deadly form of pancreatic cancer for almost two years, Patrick Swayze died Monday at his home in Los Angeles, and my condolence goes out to his family.

Actor Patrick Swayze, 57, dies of pancreatic cancer. Image: Bauer-Griffin

When the news first broke in March 2008 that Swayze has cancer, he was given a prognosis of anywhere from two to five years, and he even told ABC’s Barbara Walters, “I want to last until they find a cure, which means I’d better get a fire under it.”

And perhaps because it is so personal and he wanted to do something about it, Swayze wrote an op-ed in the Washington Post early this year, asking congress to approve the maximum funding for the NIH (at that time the $10B stimulus bill).

“The mapping of the human genome has provided a springboard into an era of personalized medicine, one in which doctors can tailor treatments to fit individual patients and their unique conditions. We also know more now than ever before about cancer’s molecular nature and the way it responds to interventions. New research money will let us take maximum advantage of this new knowledge.”

I’m sure he was happy to know that Congress did approve the maximum $10B stimulus package for the NIH.

Pancreatic cancer is so sneaky that it is practically a fatal disease. There are no symptoms nor pain until the cancer starts to spread and affects the nerves. By the time it is found in 50% of cases, the cancer has already spread to other organs. Unlike other major cancers like breast, colon and lung, pancreatic cancer has no routine tests.

The risk factors for pancreatic cancer include smoking, poor diet, obesity, and diabetes. “But 60% to 70% is really just bad luck,” according to Dr. Gagandeep Singh, MD, of John Wayne Cancer Institute at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. And about 10% to 15% of pancreatic cancers have a genetic predisposition and run in families. MedicineNet answers more common questions about pancreatic cancer, including what we can do to lower our risk.

May Patrick Swayze now rest in peace. His fight is over, but maybe it’s time we continue it with vigorous research into finding the cure for cancers.

Image: Bauer-Griffin