'08
Patrick and his wife of 33 years, Lisa Neimi, in December, 2006
Patrick Swayze is being treated for pancreatic cancer and his mother and brother have spoken out about out about his health battle in the latest issue of The National Enquirer:
His mother Patsy says, “Patrick doesn’t deserve to get this. He just doesn’t deserve it.
He’s got such a big heart. He’s been such a good and generous and thoughtful person. It breaks my heart to know he’s suffering. But he bears it and he’s determined to beat this. He’s hanging in there and getting the best treatment he can.”
Brother Don talks about Patricks reaction to the diagnosis, “Patrick noticed some weight loss and jaundice and decided to go to the doctors. It was almost like, ‘Hey, it’s time to get a check up anyway, this would be a good time.’ The diagnosis came out of left field because it seemed like he would know if there was something really drastic. I was looking in his eyes and I didn’t see a flicker of fear.
“Now I’m buying him gourmet chicken pot pies and we’re putting them in the blender. He wants to keep his weight up, and now he’s back on solid foods.”
His sister-in-law Maria adds, “I’ve never seen him scared of anything! He deals with everything the same way. He’s determined, enthusiastic, full of energy and hope.”
[From New Zealand Herald, quotes from The National Enquirer, March 24, 2008]
I’m glad to hear that they all seem determined that he is going to beat his cancer, although the outlook does not seem great. Only 5% of pancreatic cancer patients survive.
The National Enquirer also ran pictures of Patrick smoking in the same article with those quotes. These are the first pictures of Patrick since the news of his cancer was released. The general response to the pictures has been that he needs to quit. The guy reportedly has a 60-a-day habit, and what the photos don’t show is if he is cutting down. It’s not easy to quit smoking, it is one of the hardest things you can ever do. Maybe the stress of trying to give up could be almost as detrimental to his health as the smoking is, it just depends on how much he is smoking.
Hopefully Patrick can be one of the people who returns to health after pancreatic cancer. Here’s a video of him from last November dancing on Oprah. He’s still got the moves, although I’m less sure about the couple he surprises.
Written by Helen
Posted in Illness, Patrick Swayze
24 Responses to “Patrick Swayze is determined to beat cancer, say family”
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Patrick doesnt deserve to get this. He just doesnt deserve it.”
I understand your pain, lady, but neither does anybody else.
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Good Luck Patrick, my prayers are with you!
But why does he need to puree his food? Does he get choked or something?
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He ain’t beating nothing unless he dumps the cancer sticks. Sorry, but walking out of chemo, smoking a cig? Please, dumbass. Might as well quit the chemo.
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I could be wrong, but I think quitting smoking at this stage of the game is irrelevant.
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Wif is right, its really not gonna make a difference. My uncle had pancreatic cancer & he some how managed to hang on for more than a year. I used to visit him in the hospital & wheel him outside for a smoke. Pancreatic cancer is a horrible way to go
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wow, this story really makes me feel sad. i hope he makes it.
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I hope he beats it. I’m very much in favor of people beating cancer.
If the cigarettes are comfort to him, let him have them. It ain’t gonna make a difference now. Why go through the agony of quitting along with everything else?
God, his breath must reek.
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There have been studies that report a link between cigarette smoking and pancreatic cancer, although researchers aren’t sure why. Pancreatic cancer obviously starts in the pancreas, not the lungs. The only reason I know any of this is because my boyfriend has pancreatitis and has been ordered never to smoke- which he never has. Alcohol, poor diet and genetics are the three big risk factors.
Basically, with this type of cancer, your pancreas turns on itself. Instead of creating enzymes and sending them to your liver, stomach and lower intestine to break down foods, those enzymes stay in the pancreas and break down your pancreas! It’s really scary. You can’t live without your pancreas.
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All I can say is: Get well Patrick! You are my first crush ever, I need you to live!! (Do I know sound like a total nerd?! *rolleyes*
)He is a dancer, he is a fighter! That comes with the job! He will be one of the 5%! I am sure!
Oh and by the way… “Hes still got the moves, although Im less sure about the couple he surprises.”
Helen, I soooo second that! That couple is rather talent-free, so I am still questioning why it is not ME dancing with Patrick on stage!?!?! Seriously!
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My father died of pancreatic cancer recently and it’s a son-of-a-bitch. He too was a two-pack-a-day smoker. I’m surprised to hear that Patrick is a smoker… there’s something called the Wipple procedure that surgeons can do if they catch it early enough. They basically remove most of the pancreas and some intestine. If he had this done, that’s why he’s not on solid food yet. It’s never too late to quit smoking, but my dad quit 20 years before the pancreatic cancer killed him. I hope he makes it, it’s a god-awful way to die.
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Duh…cancer diagnosis…for God’s sake QUIT SMOKING…the pancreatic cancer could have been caused or made worse by the cigarettes. It doesn’t make sense - he wants to “beat this thing” and he says this with a smoke in his hand. The weed usually gets you one way or the other, be it heart attack, cancer or in the case of my dad…lugging around an oxygen tank for two years before he died of emphysema.
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Thank you, Kivrin.
Don’t say I’m gonna beat cancer, and be smoking. That’s just retarded. To those that say it doesn’t matter “at this stage” - the man said he’s going to beat it, and hasn’t done the first and most important thing to “beat it”. So bite me. A little common sense????
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gg, by the time you get cancer the damage you’ve done by smoking is too late to reverse. Just like Kirvin mentioned above, my mom got cancer almost 10 years after she quit smoking. Swayze quitting now will not improve his condition.
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No, I totally understand where you are coming from, I honestly do. But he has said he will fight it. Him holding a lit cigarette totally refutes that, if you ask me …
I know that pancreatic cancer is a killer. I don’t think anybody survives it. A friend of mine, a heavy smoker, got his Whipple surgery and his quality of life got worse and worse until he finally died, about a year later, in a rented hospital bed at home. He could not leave the bed. His doctor told him it’s from all the smoking. I do not think Swayze will survive it, sadly, and I wish him well. But the boy needs to stop smoking if he wants to last any longer than his current death sentence, as a smoker with pancreatic cancer. That’s all I mean. Don’t bite me.
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Can someone who’s complaining about him continuing to smoke actually cite some kind of medical document that connects this cancer with smoking?
I’m asking honestly, because I know nothing about the pancreas, but from what I’ve been able to find genetics and alcohol are the only things doctors claim causes it.
As a long-term smoker though, I will tell you one thing all doctors I’ve talked to seem to agree on: if you’ve been smoking for more than a decade or so and you get cancer, it’s not really going to improve your chances if you quit (with the exception of lung cancer).
It may improve your quality of life, but it won’t really improve your health.
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Other than my friend, I heard a story on NPR on it a few years back now, which confirmed my worst fears. There are connections with smoking and pancreatic cancer.
Here you go, Scott. There’s tons of medical research on this. Google even auto-fills it for you:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/64868.php
Researchers at Michigan State University have added yet another piece to the puzzle that links cigarette smoking with cancer of the pancreas, one of the deadliest forms of cancer.
In research published in the recent issue of the International Journal of Cancer, MSU’s James Trosko and colleagues zeroed in on the mechanism by which a healthy cell turns cancerous.
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http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_3_1x_Smoking_and_Pancreatic_Cancer.asp
Smoking and Pancreatic Cancer
Heavy Smoking May Damage Pancreas Before Cancer DevelopsArticle date: 1999/03/15
DNA damage in the cells of the pancreas is associated with heavy cigarette smoking, according to a study published in the January 15, 1999, issue of CANCER. The study shows heavy cigarette smoking (more than two packs a day for more than 20 years) may cause gene mutations in the pancreas. These mutations are associated with the development of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
A statistical association between heavy smoking and PDAC has been documented by several prior studies. “Epidemiologic evidence suggests a weak, albeit unequivocal, association between cigarette smoking and PDAC. The incidence of PDAC is approximately two and one-half times greater in smokers than in nonsmokers,” wrote the authors from Allegheny University and the American Cancer Society.et cetera, et cetera …
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all adenocarcinomas (including reflux/GERD) are related to insulin… which is related to high carb diets…
going low carb and shutting down insulin (which only comes from the pancreas or injections)
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I didn’t know he smoked. How strange considering how healthy he is in other aspects.
The solid food thing might have to do with the nausea that comes along with chemo. Patrick should trade his cigs in for some joints, no joke. It improves the nausea and the appetite. And contrary to what all the truth.org lovers believe, it’s not going to hurt his health anymore.
Good luck and good vibes for Patrick. I love him, and NO ONE deserves to go through what pancreatic cancer does to a person.
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I meant the weed wont hurt him any, not the cigs. I think the cigs already did their damage.
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truth.org annoys me anyway. Smoking is a choice and people are fully aware of how bad it is for them.
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You know if he’s on the way out anyway, then may as well just smoke on. Saying “I’m going to beat this” perhaps gives him a bit of comfort and denial. I saw a pic. of him and he’s losing weight. I wouldn’t doubt heavy smoking for years causes cell damage in various organs.
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To Scott,
Get over your serious denial about smoking and stop. If you have kids or other loved ones you will save them a lot of pain. Once you’ve quit for 10 years, your health risks go down substantially, almost to baseline. The literature on the links between smoking and multiple types of cancer is definitive. I watched my mother spend 24 hours gasping for breath in the last stages of lung cancer. It was hell. So don’t do the same thing to your loved ones. My brother learned and has quit, you can do it too! -
His cancer is grim and if he smokes it may take a few more days from him. Hope he didn’t smoke around his family. I’m a veg and wouldn’t kiss a guy that ate meat. BUT, he is dying and it’s sad … regardless of your life, cancer is not fun. Not a fan of him but he seemed like a nice guy. Now go out and walk/run!!!
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Scott,
My boyfriend has been diagnosed with acute pancreatitis, and his doctor has said that smoking can be a factor in pancreatitis becoming full blown cancer. Studies have shown that patients with pancreatitis who smoke are more likely to get cancer than those who don’t smoke. They don’t know why– all they know is, there’s a link. Also, for people who have received a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer, one of the side effects as the cancer gets worse is respiratory distress. The pancreas gets larger and larger, pushing on all the internal organs, the diaphragm and lungs. So smoking does not help in that respect.
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