Patrick Swayze, pancreatic cancer..

[Mackey Mouse]

My daughters called me yesterday to make sure I heard from them that this actor, who we all loved in Dirty Dancing, Red Dawn, the Chippendales on Saturday Night Live, and many other movies is battling Pancreatic Cancer..

From what I have read, he may have had a Whipple Procedure and is now having treatment. His publicists are saying they caught it early and it had not spread and then there is the Inquirer who is saying he is in very bad shape.

This cancer is deadly......not enough research being done on it as it is not one you usually survive, I believe the survival rate for 5 years is around 4%, just horrifying...

Anyway, I am adding him to my good thoughts and energy as well as Randy Pausch, the professor and imagineer from Disney, who is battling this as well. It knows no bounds and attacks no matter who you are...

Hugs to all of us battling any cancer....either as the caretaker or as the patient..

 

[julm26]

Thank you so much for your kind words about my mom, I miss her alot but know I was given a gift of time with her. I will keep both YOU and your husband in my prayers.

PC is a horrible beast of a cancer and does not leave many untouched in its wake, not even a movie star.

Unfortunately, the media is not doing a good job of explaining PC.

PC is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the USA. and the LEAST FUNDED.

there is no early detection and most people are diagnosed at stage IV.

WE MUST GET PEOPLE TO BE MORE AWARE!!

PANCREATIC CANCER RESEARCH IS AT THE STAGE BREAST CANCER RESEARCH WAS IN THE 1930'S.

It is too late for my mom, but not for everyone else....

WE MUST CREATE HOPE, RAISE AWARENESS, AND OBTAIN FUNDS FOR PANCREATIC CANCER.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Julie, you truly touched my heart with your response here..

You are so right.....not enough research being done. We need to raise public awareness for this horrific cancer. My family, DH, myself and 3 daughters, one grandson, one son in law, and one boyfriend all walked this early spring for the Lustgarten Foundation and raised $10,000 for cancer research. We are passionate about this foundation and also Pancan.....and whatever we can do to raise awareness, we will do.

I take my life one day at a time.......we do the best we can. We scan Monday, after this last treatment and meet with doctors the following week, it will be what it will be, but we will face it as a family in the battle of a lifetime......

Hugs to us all.

 

[LeahA]

Mackey Mouse-I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers for a good scan on Monday.

 

[julm26]

I pray for a clean scan for your husband. Take it one day at a time, and remember you will battle this beast all together.

I pray for strength and peace for your entire family during this battle of a lifetime.


In Memory of Geraldine M. Davies 1/1/39 - 2/18/08 (Mommy, I miss you)

 

[Rustysmom]

Marsha, I'm praying hard for good test results for your husband on Monday.

 

[TruBlu]

Marsha,
You and Tom were all I could think about as I heard the terrible news about Patrick Swayze. I grew up watching his movies, so in a strange way I feel like I know him. I am praying for you all.

DH and I were talking last night. We are hoping that good can come from this horrible thing. Perhaps this will put pancreatic cancer on the radar in Hollywood. Hopefully someone will start a major fundraising effort for research.


Tracey

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Tracey... you are so right. I was thinking the same thing, maybe his face and name will put a face on this disease so that research and doctors seem to want to find a better way to deal with this cancer instead of giving you the death sentence... I was hoping Pavarotti would have done it for the world, but no........it will depend on Swayze....it he comes out swinging and speaking out, it could be great.

We are lucky our oncologist is wonderful..he calls my DH Coach....and says things like you are doing great, you are off the charts....you know maybe they are just words but they feel good to hear.

I will let you all know what the results are from Tom's scans...it will not be till the following week after the scans on Monday...the following Tuesday I believe it is, we sit with the doctors..

 

[TaraPA]

Can both of you dealing with this firsthand give us some idea of where to start with the fund raising/raising awareness for PC?? I agree there needs to be something done.

My dad just had a PSA, Cat Scans & an MRI in the last 2 days for suspicious spots found near his spine & pelvis during an x-ray being done for what he thought was a thrown out back. He hasn't been feeling like himself for the last 8 months, I'm terrified it's going to come back that he has PC. His dad, my dear GF, died almost 2 years ago from PC. He was diagnosed on a Friday & dead 6 days later, unbelievable. (Yes he had been sick for weeks prior but misdiagnosed with reflux & a bad reaction to Coumadin because he was vomiting blood). His father, my GGF, died from stomach cancer in the 1960's, but it also could have been PC since they didn't have all the diagnostic testing back then that they have now. It's a scary cancer because it goes so quick, and I have you in my thoughts Mackey Mouse! Keep fighting the good fight with your DH. And you too julm26 - so sorry to see you recently lost your mom to this.

Are there any websites you can point me to, that help raise funds/awareness for PC? I'd love to get involved.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Hi Tara...

I have been involved in the past with both of these organizations and actually wear on my right hand a purple (color for PC) band bracelet from each of them..

http://www.pancan.org/index.html

and just this past Spring, our family raised over $10,000 for the Lustgarten Foundation:

http://www.lustgarten.org/LUS/CDA/HomePage.jsp

Both of these organizations raise funds and awareness for research for PC and both are very easy to work with. One of my daughters wrote Oprah and asked her to be actively involved with PC awareness.. she never got an answer though.

Tara... try not to worry.. right now you have to wait for answers then once you have the answers you come out fighting. The thing with PC is that there are no symptoms..and by the time there are, it is usually very advanced... Also... they claim it runs in families, which scares the life out of my 3 daughters....we did do the test to see if DH had the gene and he did not, but then we found out that is not conclusive, great...

Seems also that smoking and drinking play a big part in this cancer....but don't they in all cancers. My DH complained about night sweats....backaches, and we found this by ourselves on a routine Endoscopy... we were following up on another diagnosis.....the gastro dr saw it.....made him have a ct scan the next day, the results came in and he was being operated on in 10 days....we had no time to think, no time to read on the disease.... We were seeing a specialist in Boston....DH jaundiced and he was thinking hepatitis....thankfully we had this test scheduled and we followed up on it with the small town dr who found the PC. The specialist in Boston then got us in with a surgeon and the rest is history... surgery on Nov 2, 2004..

 

[TaraPA]

It sounds like you are definitely giving it the good fight with DH!

I didn't realize it was that hereditary. Neither my dad of GF drank, but my dad smoked for 20 years. I just finished a Colon Transit Study & have the colonoscopy (my 4th) scheduled for 3 weeks for colitis issues, but now I'm wondering if they should be checking my pancreas as well!

Thank you for those websites, I'm going to bookmark them & when I have time I will go through them. There's always something that one person can do, even just wearing the purple bracelet.

Good luck with everything!

 

[Teacher03]

Marsha, you are always in my prayers. I don't know if you remember or not, but my mom died of pancreatic cancer a little over a year ago. You helped me out so much just by listening and responding. Sending you and your husband lots of

 

[Mackey Mouse]

I do remember you. I hope you are doing well.. It is so hard to lose a loved one to any disease but for some reason lately I have been hearing so many people battling this one. There needs to be more awareness and research just as was done for breast cancer......we have come such a long with with breast cancer..

One can hope that PC eventually can be managed better....

Take care of yourself Teacher03, my motto nowadays is to live each day to fullest......take time to smell the roses and just enjoy. Spring is coming and we are so looking forward to the end of winter.

 

[NHAnn]

I haven't been on the boards a lot lately, but needed to come check in here Marsha, when I heard about Patrick Swayze--my first thought was your Tom....my next thought was HOPE that a high profile American celebrity would help raise awareness and funds for PC!!
Thinking of you, praying for you always!

Lots going on in my family over a long snowy winter, no getaways to my happy place in the cards ...... so I've been feeling a bit of the blues will be glad for spring to really come. Bring on the mud season, I don't care!!
Avery is doing well, a blessing!!

 

[CarolAnnC]

...my next thought was HOPE that a high profile American celebrity would help raise awareness and funds for PC!!

That would be nice, but when Michael Landon was diagnosed and passed on as well as Pavarotti, it did not seem to help the cause much. I don't know what it takes, maybe someone like Oprah or Warren Buffett donating and bringing the cause to a larger scope of attention.

I would like to see more government funds spent too, as opposed to the IRS just spending $42 million dollars to send each taxpayer a letter announcing the rebate soon to come. What a waste IMHO!!

 

[antmaril]

I would like to see more government funds spent too, as opposed to the IRS just spending $42 million dollars to send each taxpayer a letter announcing the rebate soon to come. What a waste IMHO!!

I agree. I saw this on the news this morning and thought to myself what a complete waste of money. $42 million to tell us something we already know. You will either get a rebate check or you won't - end of story.

 

[Mskanga]

Sadly government funding for some cancer types research is very minimal if any at all.
I feel the same way about osteosarcoma or any kind of sarcoma for that matter because osteosarcoma is not the only type of bone cancer which is what my daughter is fighting now.
In a lot of ways I feel like you do about PC because OS is usually misdiagnosed and mistaken for growing pains and pulled muscles and many times the diagnosis comes too late.
I wonder if it will take the life of another politician's child ( like Ted Kennedy ) to bring some attention .
In any case all we can do is fight and hope that our wonderful doctors help us out in the best way possible. HUGS to all facing this demons.

 

[Mackey Mouse]

Hugs to you Kanga.. I think of you and your daughter all the time and get concerned when a few days go by and I do not see you.

Keep the faith, and we just do the battle daily, right? The other choice is unacceptable.

 

[DutchsMommy]

Thank you for posting this information Mackey Mouse. My mother died of pancreatic cancer and I have been very scared too. My doctor told me it was not hereditary but having read your posts I think I will check out the websites you mention. I am freaking a bit right now because I do have night sweats and also have a sensitive back. Is there some type of 'test' they can do for PC or at least to see if you are at some kind of risk? My Mom was in a late stage when diagnosed and was gone in 3 months. If there is anything I can do (and can pass along to my sisters) to be proactive I want to. And I too agree that there is really no awareness of this deadly cancer and I hope there is a large focus put on it as a result of his illness - unfortunately probably the only good thing to come out of it....

 

[julm26]

Thank you for posting this information Mackey Mouse. My mother died of pancreatic cancer and I have been very scared too. My doctor told me it was not hereditary but having read your posts I think I will check out the websites you mention. I am freaking a bit right now because I do have night sweats and also have a sensitive back. Is there some type of 'test' they can do for PC or at least to see if you are at some kind of risk? My Mom was in a late stage when diagnosed and was gone in 3 months. If there is anything I can do (and can pass along to my sisters) to be proactive I want to. And I too agree that there is really no awareness of this deadly cancer and I hope there is a large focus put on it as a result of his illness - unfortunately probably the only good thing to come out of it....

My mom died from PC on 2/18/08 - only a short 2.5 weeks ago. Unfortunately, the problem with PC is there is NO EARLY DETECTION METHODS. Thats what we need funding for, so they can research and find early detection.

You can ask your doctor for a CA 19-9 blood test - it will tell you if there is any cancer cells in your body. You can also have a CT SCan done - but it won't show much. Your really need to have a PET SCAN done, but they are very expensive and most insurance companies will not just let you have one unless you have a crafty doctor who can figure out how to get you one.

I have had a CT SCAN done, and it showed nothing so far.

If you have diabetes, that is a cause for concern. ALSO, if you have ever had pancreaitis, that usually, in what I have researched can lead to PAncreatic CAncer. Hope this helps.

In Memory of Geraldine M. Davies 1/1/39 - 2/18/08
Fight Pancreatic Cancer - Create Hope, Support Patients, Raise Funds