Patrick Swayze Dies of Pancreatic Cancer
Star Had Advanced Pancreatic Cancer, Served as Cancer Research Advocate
Denise Mann
WebMD Health News
Reviewed By
Louise Chang, MD
Sept. 15, 2009 -- Actor Patrick Swayze died yesterday of pancreatic cancer.
Swayze, 57, died "peacefully" with his family at his side, Swayze's
publicist, Annett Wolf, said in a statement published by the Associated
Press.
Although Swayze's memorable movie roles in Dirty Dancing and
Ghost ingratiated him into the hearts and minds of legions of fans, he
will also be remembered for the awareness he helped raise about pancreatic cancer -- a rare, but stealthy disease.
Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in
March 2008. He is survived by his wife, actress/dancer Lisa Niemi.
"Patrick Swayze is a tremendous source of inspiration," Gagandeep Singh, MD,
director of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery at the John Wayne Cancer
Institute at Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, Calif., previously
told WebMD.
"He continued to work despite being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer," Singh
said. "We don't want people to close the door when they are diagnosed
with pancreatic cancer."
Patrick Swayze's Pancreatic Cancer
Although Swayze's pancreatic cancer was at stage IV when it was diagnosed in
March 2008, he continued working on his television series, The Beast,
completing all 13 episodes without the help of pain medications.
He opened up about his ordeal in a moving interview with Barbara Walters
that aired in January. "You can bet that I'm going through hell," Swayze said.
"And I've only seen the beginning of it."
Two days after that interview aired, Swayze checked himself into a hospital
with pneumonia, where he recovered before going home.
What Is Pancreatic Cancer?
The pancreas is a long, flat gland that lies in the abdomen behind the
stomach. It produces enzymes that aid digestion and certain hormones that help
maintain the proper level of blood sugar.
The American Cancer Society estimates that in the U.S. in 2009, there will
be 42,470 people diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 35,420 deaths from
pancreatic cancer, making it the nation's fourth leading cause of cancer death
overall.
Unlike other cancers, there is no screening test for pancreatic cancer.
There are also no symptoms until the cancer has begun to spread, which accounts
for the cancer's dismal survival rate.
Swayze's cancer had already spread to his liver when it was found. Because
of that, he did not have surgery.
Swayze's pancreatic cancer treatment included aggressive chemotherapy and an
experimental drug called vatalanib. That drug, which is an angiogenesis
inhibitor, blocks the development of new blood vessels that supply blood to the
tumor, which may curb the cancer's growth and/or stop the cancer from
spreading.
Dancing With the Stars
Born August 18, 1952 in Houston, Texas, Swayze graduated from Waltrip High
School in Houston, and attended San Jacinto College. His father, Jesse Wayne
Swayze, died in 1982.
His mother, Patsy, owned a dance school in Houston, where Patrick was also a
student and perhaps began developing the moves he nailed in Dirty
Dancing with actress Jennifer Grey. Swayze first danced professionally as
Prince Charming in Disney on Parade. He also played lead Danny Zuko in
the original Broadway production of Grease.
Highlights of his film career include a Golden Globe nomination for his role
as dance instructor Johnny Castle in Dirty Dancing and a second nod for
his portrayal of the ghost Sam Wheat in Ghost.
Several months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Swayze was
cleared by his doctors to resume his work on his television show, The
Beast.
Swayze also made an unscheduled appearance at Stand Up 2 Cancer, a
televised event that was broadcast on network channels ABC, NBC, and CBS on
Sept. 5, 2008. Stand Up 2 Cancer aims to take the sting out of cancer by
promoting -- and investing -- in research.
"Tonight I stand here, another individual living with cancer, who asks that
we not wait any longer and I ask only one thing of you -- please stand up with
me," Swayze said to the cheering crowd.
Patrick Swayze: Cancer Pioneer
Part of Swayze's lasting legacy may be his role in casting attention to
experimental treatments for pancreatic cancer.
"It absolutely raises the profile of the disease to have someone well known
and well-loved like Patrick Swayze have this be a public diagnosis," Michelle
Duff, director of research and scientific affairs at the Pancreatic Cancer
Action Network (PANCAN) in El Segundo, Calif., told WebMD previously. "Having
his name in People magazine and other celebrity magazines certainly
raises awareness for pancreatic cancer."
In fact, there was a pronounced spike in calls to PANCAN's patient liaison
program after Swayze's diagnosis became public, Duff said. The patient liaison
program is a call-in program for patients and families that provides free
information about the cancer.
Singh said there are some promising treatments in various stages of clinical
trials. Researchers are also looking for genetic markers for early detection.
In the future, blood tests may tell if someone tests positive for certain genes
that portend risk of pancreatic cancer.
"No single therapy is absolute at the present time," Singh said. "It's
analogous to multiple freeways. If you block off the main freeway, the cancer
will find an alternative freeway and if you block off the alternative freeway,
the cancer will find a surface route," he says.
Put another way: "We can knock out several genes, but cancer cells are so
smart that they will find a way of bypassing that route," Singh said.
For these reasons, Singh predicts that various therapies that attack several
routes will be the way to treat any cancer, including pancreatic cancer.
"Treatment vaccines look fairly promising for a good number of patients who
have had the pancreatic tumor removed and then get a vaccine to prevent the
disease from coming back," Duff says. "These vaccines basically stimulate the
body's own immune system to fight the cancer and are typically given with
chemotherapy."
There are several new chemotherapy agents in the pipeline in both academic
settings and at pharmaceutical companies, Duff says.
"Some things are getting closer to prime time, but nothing is quite ready
for prime time," she said.
Duff said she hopes that in 20 years, "we will think of pancreatic cancer as
a chronic disease that we could detect earlier. This way, people will have
years and years to live, much like what we have done in treating AIDS and other
cancers... The ideal would be to find a cure. That would be an
out-of-the-ballpark homerun."
WebMD Senior Writer Miranda Hitti contributed to this story.
SOURCES: Associated Press. WebMD Health News: "Patrick Swayze Has Pancreatic Cancer." Gagandeep Singh, MD, director of hepatobiliary and pancreatic surgery, John Wayne Cancer Institute, Saint John''''s Health Center, Santa Monica, Calif. American Cancer Society: "What Are the Key Statistics About Cancer of the Pancreas?" People.com. Internet Movie Database Biography: "Patrick Swayze." WebMD Health News: " Patrick Swazye Opens Up About Pancreatic Cancer."
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