Patrick Swayze, 55, and his wife of 23 years, Lisa Niemi, 52, were spotted out together at a Lakers playoff game in LA on Friday. It was Swayze’s first public appearance since he announced his diagnosis and treatment for pancreatic cancer in March. Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers.

Swayze gave a statement to People Magazine that shows how he’s enjoying life and is responding well to treatment:

“Thought I’d give you guys a little update. Lisa and I have been back and forth from New Mexico enjoying the arrival of spring and new baby calves. This past weekend, we spent a fun time with friends in Reno for Lisa’s birthday, where I took her jewelry shopping at Kenny G & Company and (we) were able to find her something really special and much deserved! In the meantime, I am continuing treatment at Stanford and the great news is I continue to respond well.”

[From People.com]

When we mentioned Patrick on Monday, we also included a video clip of the popular “Last Lecture” given by Carnegie Mellon professor and pancreatic sufferer, Randy Pausch. Dr. Pausch is an inspiration for his candid advice, his outspoken nature, and his realistic but positive outlook on his prognosis. He says that he has just months to live, but like Patrick Swayze, Pausch is living his life and cherishing his family while he can. You can see his status and updates on his blog.

Yesterday I learned that a friend of mine from the states had died in a tragic accident over the weekend. Before I heard this news, I read the very sad and moving statement from Xzibit about the loss of his premature son. This comes after the terrible human loss and tragedies in China and Myanmar, which have been very much on my mind. I would like to post Xzibit’s statement here because I found his words very meaningful and they bring tears to my eyes:

AS you all know, I shared with you the announcment of my newborn son Xavier Kingston Joiner on may 15th and also informed you that he was born prematurly. well this week was extremly difficult for him because his lungs were not strong enough to handle regular oxygen on his own. Xavier passed away this morning at 3:30am and I must tell you this, It is unatural for a parent to bury a child. I am telling you this because of the same reason I tell you when im having great times, life is too short to be fake. Hold on to your kids if you have them, protect them and show them you love them everyday you wake up and see them, dont take a second you get to hug them teach them and care for them for granted. You can have all the material wealth in the universe but it is NOTHING compared to having your family. I am thankful for all of my blessings and im not one to question God’s perfect plan, so I leave you with great love and thanks for the love that was sent earlier on my pervious blog to my son. Of course I need to take some time and handle my loss, STAY FOCUSED PEOPLE. Its not promised to any of us.

[From Xzibit's myspace via Celebrity Baby Scoop]

I’m not a religious person and would consider myself agnostic, but things like this make me think of God and what’s in store for us. Hang in there Patrick Swayze and Dr. Pausch. Hang in there everyone, and cherish your families because no day is promised to us or the ones we love.

Patrick Swayze may be fighting pancreatic cancer, but that isn’t keeping him from enjoying life. The 55 year-old Dirty Dancing star was seen with his wife, Lisa Niemi, out at an NBA playoff game between the Lakers and San Antonio Spurs on Friday. He was thinner but looked great. It’s so nice to see Swayze out.

47 year-old Carnegie Mellon processor Randy Pausch is a married father of three who is also suffering from pancreatic cancer and admits doctors give him just months to live. His “Last Lecture” in which he said goodbye to his students last September was viewed millions of times online, made into a book, and was reprised on Oprah. He says “Although I’m going to die soon, I’m actually physically very strong.” In his talk about achieving childhood dreams, he advises us to work hard and be persistent, value people over things, and keep a positive attitude.

Thanks to The Huffington Post for these photos.

It gives you a chill to hear about all the celebrity women who have faced breast cancer, many of whom take years to discuss their private battle with the illness. About two weeks ago Sex and The City star Cynthia Nixon went public with the fact that she underwent a lumpectomy and radiation in 2006 at the age of 40 after doctors found a small cancerous lump on a routine mammogram. Nixon is the new spokesperson for the Susan J Komen breast cancer foundation and emphasizes the importance of regular checkups with a gynecologist.

Now Sopranos star Edie Falco is talking more about the fact that she too underwent treatment for breast cancer while she was working on the popular series. She says she didn’t tell anyone at work because she didn’t want them to be worried about her. It sounds like she was undergoing chemo and that it was very difficult for her:

WHEN Edie Falco was battling breast cancer in 2003, she never told any of her “The Sopranos” co-stars. She tells the new issue of Health magazine: “I kept my diagnosis under the radar, even from the cast and crew, because well-meaning people would have driven me crazy asking, ‘How are you feeling?’ I would have wanted to say, ‘I’m scared, I don’t feel so good, and my hair is falling out!’ I bucked up, put on my Carmela fingernails, and was ready to work.” Meanwhile, Falco recently adopted her second child, a baby girl, reports In Touch.

[From Page Six]

Falco did come out with the news earlier. In August, 2004 she revealed that she was given the “all clear” by doctors after completing treatment some five months prior.

Other celebrity breast cancer survivors include Sheryl Crowe, Melissa Etheridge, Kylie Minogue, Gloria Steinem, Kate Jackson, Olivia Newton John, Jaclyn Smith, Suzanne Somers, Rue McClanahan, and Lynn Redgrave. About 1 in every 8 women worldwide will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. Survival rates for all ages are from 81 – 86%.

Edie Falco is shown at the premiere of Tenessee at the Tribeca Film Festival on 4/26/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Good Morning America viewers who have been following host Robin Roberts’ ongoing battle with breast cancer were surprised by her new look this week. The courageous news anchor, who underwent chemotherapy last year that resulted in hair loss which she covered up with a wig, showed off her regrown natural hair. It’s cropped short, to be sure, but it looks a lot better than the wig.

ABC anchor Robin Roberts has ditched the wig post chemo and she is even sexier. The “Good Morning America” anchor unveiled a new look on Monday’s broadcast and she looks fantastic. After being diagnosed with breast cancer and starting chemotherapy last fall, the “GMA” anchor shaved her head and donned a wig to look like her old self on the show each morning.

Now that is no longer necessary. “Don’t adjust your set,” she told viewers. “This is it — this is the new me — get used to it!” Is she kidding, she looks great and we love it. “I’ve worn the wig to cling to the past … but now it’s time to accept and embrace who I am now,” Roberts told colleague Diane Sawyer.

In July of last year, Roberts announced during the live broadcast of Good Morning America that she had been diagnosed with an early form of breast cancer. She noticed a lump through self-examination.

So now that Roberts has retired the wig she had been wearing on the air while receiving chemotherapy treatments for breast cancer what will she do with it? ABC News reports that Roberts plans to auction it off for charity.

[From The National Ledger]

I never cared for Robin’s wig, but I can certainly understand why she wore it. She has conducted herself with a great deal of class and dignity throughout her battle with cancer, and it couldn’t have been easy to go through it so publicly. Kudos to Robin, and let’s hope her recovery and remission continue.

Beloved Scottish actor Ewan McGregor had a cancerous mole removed from below his right eye. The Huffington Post has a comparison of his face before and after two moles were removed. The one under his eye was cancerous.

In an interview with the BBC, he said “I had a little skin cancer under here, under my eye.”

“I just went to have them checked. You have to be careful if you’re pale skinned and you’ve spent time in the sun with moles, so I went to a specialist who thought they were better to be removed and indeed he was correct.”

He said “Everything’s fine. It’s all good [now]” He said he didn’t have moments of panic and that it was just something he had to keep in check.

As for whether he’ll get back on his motorcycle for another big trip, McGregor said he rides his bike every day, but that he’s focusing on his films for now. McGregor took a three month trip around Europe on his bicycle with his friend Charley Boorman and a cameraman in 2004. Their journey was made into a TV series and a book, and they visited some of UNICEF’s local work on the way. They took another three month trip last year from Scotland to South Africa.

McGregor, 37, has been married to French production designer Eva Marvrakis, since 1995 and they have three daughters, Clara, 12, Esther, 6, and Jamiyan, 6. Jamiyan was adopted from Mongolia, and Ewan met her when he was on his motorcycle trip.

McGregor makes it a policy not to talk about his family in interviews, and prefers to keep that part of his life private.

I don’t think I’m alone in swooning over this guy. He didn’t volunteer the information about his cancerous mole – the interviewer specifically asked about it because she noticed that his moles were gone since he made the film Deception, which he’s promoting. It’s an erotic thriller also starring Michelle Williams and Hugh Jackman and is out on Friday in the US, UK, Australia and Russia.

Here’s the trailer, it looks good!

Ewan McGregor and his wife, Eva Marvrakis, are shown at the Hampstead Theatre Spring Gala on 3/13/08, thanks to WENN. Ewan is shown below at the Empire Awards on 3/9/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

[Details from BBC and Wikipedia]

Cynthia Nixon and girlfriend Christine Marinoni on 4/9/08, thanks to WENN
Sex and The City actress Cynthia Nixon, 42, is the new ambassador for the Susan G Komen For The Cure organization. Nixon’s mother is a two time breast cancer survivor, and Nixon herself was diagnosed with the disease in 2006. She said she’s been getting regular mamograms since she was 35, and that a small cancerous lump was found on her mammogram when she was 40. She had a lumpectomy and 6 weeks of radiation, and it sounds like she is now cancer free.

In a series of videos on the Susan G Komen organization’s website, Nixon talks about the importance of regular mammograms and early detection. She says that breast cancer is a disease that has touched so many lives and that she wants to help bring awareness to the cause. Nixon also talks about how gay women need to be aware of the importance of early breast cancer detection because they’re not as focused on birth control and reproductive issues and are less likely to make frequent visits to the gynecologist.

Nixon has a new interview with Cynthia McFadden, a portion of which was broadcast on Good Morning America this morning. She talked about discovering breast cancer early and was very matter-of-fact about getting it found, treated and under control. Nixon said she didn’t disclose her breast cancer when it was first diagnosed because she didn’t want the paparazzi to be outside the hospital while she was undergoing treatment.

McFadden asked her if she really was that calm about having cancer, and she said she was and that’s just the way she is, but that her girlfriend was very panicked about it and ate to cope. Nixon said that her two kids call her girlfriend of four years, education activist Christine Marinoni, “mom” but that they call her “mommy” too. Sometimes they just say “mom” to get both of them to pay attention.

As to how Nixon told her kids about her cancer diagnosis, she said she explained it to them clearly, calmly and simply.

Nixon also says that her show “Sex and The City” handled the character Samantha’s breast cancer very well.

Here’s the clip, thanks to monkeyboy on Redlasso.

Patrick Swayze, who has pancreatic cancer, is having an ‘excellent’ response to his experimental treatment.

“We’re thrilled and grateful for the positive response Patrick has shown towards his treatment,” the Dirty Dancing star and wife Lisa Niemi tell People.

“Also, we can’t help but feel that all the prayers, meditations and good thoughts sent his way by everyone has made a difference. Thank you!” said the couple.

His physician, Dr. George Fisher, added: “Patrick Swayze continues to respond well to his treatment for pancreatic cancer. Because of his excellent response, he will continue the same therapy at Stanford.”

People

The drug Patrick is reportedly taking is called Vatalanib which blocks the growth and spread of cancer by affecting the molecules that turn normal cells into cancer cells. He has also undergone chemotherapy. Experimental treatment is generally only performed on terminally ill patients, although Patrick’s reps say that suggestions he has only weeks to live aren’t true.

While Patrick may not be close to death, pancreatic cancer has a poor prognosis. The five year survival rate ranges between 5% and 25%, depending on how advanced the cancer is when diagnosed.

I’m glad to hear he is doing well, and hopefully we’ll get more reports like this over the coming years.

Kylie Minogue has been out talking about her breast cancer, and two things about it have really struck true with me. First, is that she has not been given the all clear from doctors yet, that she still has to have regular checks.

“It’s not over,” quotes the Sunday Mirror, “I still go for regular check-ups. The ‘voyage’ doesn’t end suddenly. That’s why it’s so difficult to talk about it.”

However, despite admitting some of her management team feared her decision to announce her condition in May 2005 could harm her career, Kylie says she’s sure she made the right decision in going public.

“It’s wonderful to know that in talking about it, I’m perhaps helping women, families and also some men with breast cancer,” she explains.

Entertainmentwise

Secondly, that she was misdiagnosed initially and told everything was fine, and she only discovered the tumor on a second investigation.

“Listen, this is an opportunity for me to say something that I have not said before,” a nervous Minogue said.

“I was misdiagnosed initially.

“So my message to all of you and everyone at home is, because someone is in a white coat and using big medical instruments doesn’t necessarily mean they are right.”

Minogue did not give the date of the misdiagnosis, how long she went before the second check or if the misdiagnosis occurred in Australia or Britain.

But, she said the misdiagnosis happened before she embarked on her Showgirl concert tour.

Sydney Morning Herald

This is so important, to not feel intimidated when you go to see your doctor. If you feel something is wrong with your body, then something probably is. There is no need to feel embarrassed by getting a second opinion, or coming back for further tests. If your doctor makes you feel stupid, tell him he’s not doing his job properly by making you feel that way and get a new doctor.

Kylie also took the time to point out that getting married and having babies would be marvelous, but that she doesn’t “absolutely have to have children to make my life complete”.

Kylie is currently promoting her new album, titled X. She turns 40 in May.

Kylie Minogue is shown at The Brit Awards on 2/20/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

Earlier this month, we reported on 13 staff members at UCLA Medical Center who were fired for snooping through Britney Spears’ confidential medical records and feeding information to the tabloids. It looks as though Spears isn’t the only celeb to be ratted out at the medical center. Farrah Fawcett, who has been battling cancer, was also a target.

Months before UCLA Medical Center caught its staffers snooping in the medical records of pop star Britney Spears, ’70s TV icon Farrah Fawcett learned that a hospital employee had surreptitiously gone through records of her cancer treatments there, documents and interviews show.

Fawcett’s lawyers said they are concerned that the information was subsequently leaked or sold to tabloids, including the National Enquirer.

Shortly after UCLA doctors told Fawcett that her cancer had returned — and before she had told her son and closest friends — the Enquirer posted the news on its website. Indeed, alarming headlines regularly cropped up in the Enquirer and its sister publication, the Globe, within days of Fawcett’s treatments at the UCLA hospital.

UCLA subsequently terminated the employee who inappropriately reviewed Fawcett’s records, according to one person familiar with the situation who spoke on condition of anonymity.

This was the second time that information on Fawcett’s links to UCLA was inappropriately shared by someone connected with the hospital. In a 2006 letter, one of her physicians, Gary Gitnick, informed Fawcett that a former hospital contractor had listed her name on his blog, “suggesting you are a patient and/or charitable donor of mine and UCLA.”

While Fawcett, now 61, was being treated at UCLA, officials had been monitoring access to some of her records to guard against a privacy breach — and found none, said Carole A. Klove, chief compliance and privacy officer for UCLA Healthcare and Medical Sciences.

But after the Enquirer ran its exclusive story, “Farrah’s Cancer is Back!,” last May, Fawcett complained to her doctor, Eric Esrailian, and UCLA launched an investigation and looked at additional records. The hospital discovered “multiple reviews” of her records by a worker who was not involved in Fawcett’s treatment, Klove said.

[From the LA Times]

If you ask me, this incident is even more egregious than the Britney one. Farrah Fawcett was battling a terminal disease and hadn’t even had a chance to break the news to her family before these nosy staffers went running to the Enquirer and got paid for this. It’s disgusting. I’d sue their asses off if it were me. But I guess Farrah has enough to deal with right now. If this keeps going on, how are famous people supposed to keep their medical records and treatment private?

Farrah Fawcett is shown in the header image on 5/19/07, thanks to Splash News.

I picked up the latest issue of Marie Claire Australia this week, the one where nude, pregnant Christina Aguilera is knocked off the cover by some chick that won Miss Universe, and it’s totally devoted to skin cancer and how to avoid getting it. Normally after reading a women’s magazine I feel like going out and buying some new shoes and maybe trying a new hair colour, after reading this one I feel like taking my (fake) tanned hide down to the hospital and updating my life insurance. Zooming in on my newfound paranoia about the fact that I obviously am going to die of skin cancer before I’m 30, is Eric Dane, McSteamy himself, who has recently recovered with his own brush with death. And selling the story to OK!

“I went to my dermatologist,” Eric reveals in an exclusive interview in the new issue of OK!. But the last thing the 35-year-old expected was to be diagnosed with skin cancer. “He said it was malignant tissue caused by sun damage.”

The malignancy was treated by freezing the cancerous tissue off with liquid nitrogen. Unfortunately for Eric, the actor had a severe reaction to a cream given to him for his lip after the treatment . “My skin is very sensitive,” the actor most famous for playing Dr. Mark “McSteamy” Sloan, explains to OK!, “and my lip was traumatized by the procedure I had to go through.”

His lip’s overreaction to the medication created a painful scenario that made eating difficult, if not impossible. “I didn’t eat very well for a couple of weeks and lost a bunch of weight,” Eric explains, estimating that he dropped at least 10 pounds off his 6’1″ frame while dealing with his cancer.

“Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States,” Dr. Micki Ly, a Maui, Hawaii-based dermatologist, explains to OK!. “More than a million cases are diagnosed annually.” But Eric was extremely wise to act quickly in dealing with it, she says. “The mouth is a bad area for a malignancy because they spread faster in mucosal areas, of which the mouth is one.”

OK! Magazine

It’s not only the middle aged and elderly that get skin cancer, but also people as young as twenty can suffer from skin cancer as a result of sun exposure. Recently an Australian 25-year-old woman actually died after repeated exposure to a solarium. I thought they were safe.

If you want to get checked out for skin cancer, check out the Cancer Council website. It tells you how to identify possible melanomas. Interestingly, Marie Claire says that that one of the most common places to get skin cancer is on the soles of your feet, because who remembers to put sunscreen there?

Oh, and Eric Danes has nothing to worry about. He is still completely McSteamy, and is almost cute enough for me to join in on the Grey’s Anatomy obsession everyone seems to have right now.

Note by Celebitchy: I am a very fair-skinned person and freckle and burn easily. Every winter I will do about 3-4 tanning bed sessions total in order to get some sun and boost my mood. Last week, though, I went to a new tanning salon and stupidly asked for 12 minutes on a medium-strength bed, because it was the lowest option listed on the board. I should have asked for 4-5 minutes, which is what I normally do. Of course I got a bad burn, my first in over ten years, and that m’fckr hurt! It is healthy to get some moderate sun for the vitamin D, but use sunscreen and don’t abuse the tanning beds.

Eric Dane is shown in the header at the Primetime Emmy Awards on 9/16/07, and below at the Glamour Magazine “Women of the Year Awards” on 11/5/07, thanks to PRPhotos.