Photo: RETNA
The National Enquirer broke the news today that actor Patrick Swayze was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer which spread to his other organs. But Swayze’s doctor says reports that he has just 5 weeks to live are untrue.
“Patrick has a very limited amount of disease and he appears to be responding well to treatment thus far,” Dr Fisher said last night in a statement.
“All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue. We are considerably more optimistic.”
The 55-year-old star, most famous for roles in To Wong Foo, Dirty Dancing and Ghost, was diagnosed in January.
Swazy and his wife Lisa Niemi, who both have pilot’s licenses, flew themselves to Stanford University Medical Center in California on the weekends in hopes of keeping his chemotherapy treatments secret.
Swayze may have had part or all of his pancreas removed in an effort to save his life. Last month it was reported that Swayze had undergone surgery at Stanford hospital for a serious “gastrointestinal procedure”. Patients who have the surgery can expect a 5 year survival rate of 10%.
Swayze originally thought he was suffering from gastroenteritis after he began spitting up blood. Symptoms of pancreatic cancer tend to appear at a late stage when the cancer has already spread to other organs.
The symptoms include nausea, vomiting and severe upper abdominal pain that usually radiates to the back.
Pancreatic cancer is usually diagnosed in men 55 and older. The pancreas is critical to the digestive process and is also vital in maintaining normal blood sugar.
