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.

Verne Troyer, best known as “Mini-Me” in the Austin Powers movies, has been hospitalized. The diminutive actor, who is currently cast in Terry Gilliam’s new movie “The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus,” which co-starred the late Heath Ledge and now features both Johnny Depp and Colin Ferrell, was battling flu symptoms on the set and was hospitalized for dehydration.

Actor Verne Troyer, best known for his role as “Mini Me” in Austin Powers, was rushed to the hospital today, Usmagazine.com has learned.

A source close to Troyer, 39, says the actor was experiencing “flu-like symptoms” while shooting The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus (Heath Ledger’s last movie) in Burnaby, British Columbia.

Adds the source, “He’s been working really hard on the film. They just wanted to hydrate him.”

A rep for Troyer denied that he was treated for a drug-related problem.

“Verne is fine and doing well and is back to work,” the rep tells Us.

Troyer checked into rehab for alcoholism in 2006.

[From Us Weekly]

My question: what the hell kind of weird-ass movie is this, that stars Johnny Depp, Tom Waits, Christoper Plummer…. and Mini-Me? I do hope Verne is feeling better soon, and whatever he’s dealing with goes away. Every time I see him, I can’t help but think of when he appeared on the reality show “The Surreal Life,” and would get blackout drunk to the point that Peter Brady would have to carry him around like a baby and put him to bed.

Note by Celebitchy: Heath Ledger fell ill while shooting that same movie, and the star Terry Gilliam said of Heath’s illness before his death that “We all caught colds because we were shooting outside on horrible, damp nights. But Heath’s went on and I don’t think he dealt with it immediately, even when he was taking antibiotics. I think what he had was the walking pneumonia.”

Now that two actors have fallen ill, do you think they might improve working conditions?

Verne Troyer is shown with “actresses” Tina Holloway and Tiffany Jordan at the Fuse TV Party for the Grammy Awards on 2/7/08, thanks to PRPhotos.

I think it’s safe to assume that Lara Flynn Boyle has a medical condition that is causing her face to look puffy. Faded Youth posted other photos of Boyle from Friday night and said that it could be due to some kind of plastic surgery or injections, but it looks to me like she is on prescription steroids and that she might have slight bell’s palsy, which is where the muscles sag on one side of your face. She was seen outside of Mr. Chow’s restaurant, where she paused for photos and signed autographs.

I checked the photo agencies and it’s been nearly a year since Boyle was photographed at an event, so she may have been lying low due to an illness. Hopefully she’s ok. She’s known for her thin figure and she looks just as skinny, but with some swelling around her face.

According to IMDB, she was on an episode of Law & Order this year and has two movies in the works for 2009. I really think she has some sort of medical condition, maybe an auto-immune disorder, and it’s possible that she went to Mr. Chow to let everyone know what’s going on with her. She might even talk to the press about it soon. I don’t think she owes it to anyone to make it known if she’s suffering from an illness, but celebrities don’t go to Mr. Chow when they want to hide.

She is also shown on 4/13/07 as a comparison. Thanks to Splash News and PRPhotos for these pictures.

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.

Sometimes you hear just the strangest stories, like someone being knifed in the head and surviving, or a dog returning home after being lost for years. Or Geri Halliwell’s singing curing a stroke victim.

The girl who had the stroke is Jessica Knight, who last month was walking home and was stabbed 30 times, causing the stroke. She is 14 years old, and the attack has received a lot of press in the United Kingdom where it took place.

Jessica – who also suffered a stroke as a result of her injuries – hadn’t moved but as soon as Geri started singing, it triggered her long road to recovery.

Jessica’s mother, Jill Walmsley, said: “Geri sang a couple of lines from one of the Spice Girls’ songs and Jessica started moving her arms and legs. It was amazing. We were all in fits of giggles because we were so relieved and it was just so funny seeing her legs move to Geri’ singing.

“The next day, she opened her eyes for the first time.”

Sydney Morning Herald

This is actually a great story, Jessica is now talking again, and will soon be heading home. She can’t recall the visit from Geri, but Geri left her a Spice Girls tour wristband that I suspect this kid is never going to take off.

Geri will never have to hear any criticism of her voice again – who cares what she sounds like, she can cure illness! Can you do that, Celine Dion?

Geri Halliwell is shown at the Spice Girls’ final concert in Toronto and at the after party on 2/27/08.

Patrick Swayze’s rep confirmed last Wednesday that the beloved actor is suffering from pancreatic cancer, but said that reports that doctors gave him just five weeks to live were not true. He said “Patrick is continuing his normal schedule during this time, which includes working on upcoming projects.”

WENN is reporting that Swayze has had to drop out of his latest film Fired Up, in which he was going to play a gay cheerleading instructor. There is no confirmation or follow-up from his rep on his withdrawal from the film.

Swayze’s doctor said in a statement last Wednesday that he has “a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far.” He also seemed to deny the Enquirer’s report, which stated that Swayze had lost 30 pounds and could not keep solid food down, saying that “All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic.”

His rep is also quoted as saying that “Patrick is currently undergoing chemotherapy – not radiation – and he has not lost his hair. We are doing everything we can, and Patrick is doing well under the circumstances.”

I really hope that’s the case and that Swayze has dropped out of the role so that he can focus on his health at this critical time.

Many of Swayze’s co-stars have offered encouragement and their thoughts to him.

His co-star from 1987′s Dirty Dancing, Jennifer Grey, said “If I saw him on the streets today, I’d throw my arms around him and love him up.”

Claire Sweeney, who worked with Swayze in 2006 on the London stage production of Guys and Dolls, said “I feel privileged to have worked with him and honored to have him and his wife Lisa in my life as friends. My thoughts are with them both at this difficult time and I hope with all my heart that he makes a full recovery.”

According to Bang Showbiz, “Patrick is recovering from his latest chemotherapy session at his New Mexico ranch with his wife of 33 years, Lisa Niemi.”

I love when celebrities do great things for random non-famous people. Unfortunately I don’t get to write about that nearly as much as I’d like, as it doesn’t happen with the frequency I’d like. But the latest one is really a doozie; a woman in New York City has found a bone marrow donor in thanks in part to the help of singer Rihanna. Attorney Lisa Gershowitz-Flynn, 41, found out she has an especially aggressive form of leukemia called Acute Myelogenous Leukemia right after Thanksgiving. Only one in five patients end up get a bone marrow transplant because it’s so hard to find a donor. Gershowitz-Flynn’s family and friends started a group, GiftForLisa.com, to try to get as many people to volunteer bone marrow as possible. Rihanna helped get the word out about Lisa’s desperate need for a donor, and the publicity she gave to her cause brought national headlines and a huge increase in the donor registry.

“When I heard about Lisa [Gershowitz Flynn]‘s plight, my heart broke,” Rihanna tells PEOPLE exclusively. “I said, ‘I need to get the word out about Lisa right away.’ ”

Specifically, Rihanna is working with DKMS – the world’s largest non-profit marrow donor center to help raise awareness for the need for people to come forward to become donors.

[From People]

Lisa has luckily found a donor, even though the odds weren’t looking good.

“Today a 32-year-old guardian angel consented to be my donor, even though in all likelihood she has never met me and does not know who I am,” Lisa Gershowitz-Flynn, 41, a lawyer, wrote in an email to supporters Thursday.

“While we cannot verify the source of the donor,” Flynn adds, “this angel was most likely found through the efforts of my family and friends, as well as complete strangers who heard about my story and took it upon themselves to aid in the effort to find a donor.”

[From People]

DKMS says that not only did they find a matching donor for Lisa, but they registered an additional 2,000 people. Becoming a bone marrow donor is incredibly easy; all you have to do is have a painless cheek swab. Your DNA goes into the registry, and should you be a match for someone and wish to donate, a donor would undergo a minor outpatient surgery, which would extract healthy stem cells that would replace the cancer patient’s unhealthy cells. It’s an amazing way to save someone’s life. Several other celebrity moms got on board and championed Lisa’s cause, including Kate Winslet. Talk about good celebrities.

Here’s Rihanna at the Brit awards on 2/20/08. Images thanks to PR Photos.

Jenny McCarthy’s five-year-old son Evan is autistic, and Jenny has been a vocal advocate for all sorts of alternative autism treatments. Though to be fair, there is such a wide range in the autism spectrum and so much is still unknown about it that there aren’t exactly many conventional treatments at this point. Most things are experimental and work for some kids and not others. Jenny recently spoke about the benefits of treating autism with diet and vitamins, and urged the medical community to at least consider it.

McCarthy, whose five-year-old son Evan suffers from the disorder, travels around America giving talks about the alleged benefits of natural medicines. But the blonde, who is dating Jim Carrey, wishes doctors would acknowledge how diets and vitamins can be used to treat autism.

She says, “I’ve been speaking to moms across the country who are all shouting out the same thing: ‘This (diet and supplement intake) is working. It’s so heartbreaking to see the medical community not support something called diet and vitamins. And it pains us, city after city after city. I see this heartbreak on these mom’s faces. Autism isn’t covered by (medical) insurance. If things like diets and supplements are working, then why not support it? These kids are getting better and I will not shut up and will not stop fighting about it.”

[From WXYZ]

Jenny has gotten a lot of flack for her techniques and her beliefs, especially from the rest of the world that doesn’t have to deal with autism. They’re definitely unconventional, but if nothing else it speaks to the desperation a mother must feel in trying to heal her son. She was open-minded and willing to try anything. In October, Dr. David Feinberg, chief executive officer of the UCLA Hospital System, called McCarthy his hero for all the work she’s done related to autism. She travels around the country speaking to audiences about her experiences with it, and has written a bestselling book. She is, however, associated with a group called Indigo Moms that believe their kids have special abilities and auras that’s pretty hooky, and it brings her credibility down a few notches. Either way, she’s still making headlines, bringing a lot of attention to autism, and raising a ton of money for research, which can only be a good thing.

Here’s Jenny McCarthy leaving Whole Foods Market with a bag of groceries on 03/01/2008. Images thanks to WENN.

Yesterday the news came out that Patrick Swayze was suffering from pancreatic cancer and had just five weeks to live. His condition sounded dire and more like a hospice care situation than something he could possibly recover from. The National Enquirer reported this news with a supposed insider quote that “he was told he could have two more treatments, but his cancer was not responding. In short – they held out little hope for a cure .”

Then Patrick’s rep confirmed that he had pancreatic cancer to Page Six, and it sounded like it was just a matter of time for the beloved actor. Even People reported the dire prognosis for most cases, as described by the Mayo Clinic, that “Pancreatic cancer spreads rapidly and is seldom detected in its early stages, which is a major reason why it’s a leading cause of cancer death. Signs and symptoms may not appear until the disease is quite advanced. By that time, the cancer is likely to have spread to other parts of the body and surgical removal is no longer possible.”

Thankfully People and other outlets quickly updated their story with a new statement from Swayze’s doctor that the National Enquirer’s account was overblown, and that his cancer is limited and under control. He is expected to be back at work soon:

“Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far,” Dr. George Fisher says in a statement. “All of the reports stating the time frame of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic.”

The actor’s rep adds: “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.”

[From People.com]

I think we can all breathe a sigh of relief now, and thank goodness that the original report was wrong. Commentor Mairead noted that Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a form of pancreatic cancer in 2003 that he recovered from. According to Wikipedia, he had “a rare, far less aggressive type known as islet cell neuroendocrine tumor,” which sounds like it’s not the same as the health issue that Swayze is facing. Job’s tumor was removed and he has returned to health.

Please get well Mr. Swayze. Our thoughts are with you.

Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi are shown at the premiere of Rocky Balboa on 12/13/06, thanks to PRPhotos.

Update: Swayze’s doctor says this report is overblown and that he has a “limited amount” of cancer.

He has been getting outpatient treatment at Stanford University, and will receive two more sessions of chemotherapy, but doctors say that it’s not helping and they don’t know what else they can do:

In a shocking world exclusive, The NATIONAL ENQUIRER has uncovered the devastating news that the beloved Hollywood actor and dancer was diagnosed in late January with pancreatic cancer that has spread to other organs.

Full details are in the print edition of the NATIONAL ENQUIRER that goes on sale tomorrow.

For the past month, Patrick, 55, has been traveling to Stanford University’s prestigious cancer center in Palo Alto for radical chemotherapy, but his doctors are no longer optimistic that the treatments will be successful.

Patrick and his wife Lisa Niemi — who both have pilot’s licenses — have been flying their private Beechcraft plane into Palo Alto’s airport, minutes away from the Stanford Cancer Center, where the actor has received outpatient treatment.

He received three doses of chemotherapy and the tumor shrank, but less than his doctors had hoped for — and Patrick was told he should prepare for the end.

“He was told he could have two more treatments, but his cancer was not responding. In short – they held out little hope for a cure,” said an insider.

[From The National Enquirer's website]

The article states that Patrick has lost 20 pounds and is on a liquid diet because he can’t keep food down. This is so sad and I hope he pulls through. He’s just 55 and that’s way too young to die.

Yesterday Best Week Ever had us all in stitches with a cute post showing Patrick Swayze’s many expressions in Ghost, and today comes the shocking news that he’s battling terminal cancer. Please hang in there Patrick and get well.

In early February there was a story that Patrick Swayze was hospitalized for a serious “gastro-intestinal procedure” at Stanford Medical center, but his spokesperson simply said he was doing well and no further information was given.

Update: Swayze’s doctor says his prognosis is not this dire and that he has a “limited amount” of cancer. Please see the article “Patrick Swayze’s cancer not as serious as thought” for the latest.

Patrick Swayze and his wife Lisa Niemi are shown at the Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino opening on 11/17/07, thanks to PRPhotos.