Celebrity Mound

Patrick Swayze didn’t realize he was sick until it was nearly too late, but his dogged determination to get well makes him a survivor.

In a new biography of the actor, “Patrick Swayze: One Last Dance” (out Tuesday from Simon Spotlight Entertainment), the “Dirty Dancing” star confides that on New Year’s Eve in 2007 he realized the Champagne wasn’t agreeing with him. “It was like acid on a open wound,” he tells author Wendy Leigh, who adds, “And it was then that … he took an objective look at his body and at last confronted the truth that he had inexplicably dropped 20 pounds without even trying. He was accustomed to enduring physical pain, broken limbs and suffering in silence, but by the end of January 2008, he knew he could no longer avoid facing up to his symptoms and underwent tests.”

Swayze’s wife, Lisa, was informed of the diagnosis first, that her husband had pancreatic cancer and was given just a 5% chance to live.

Writes Leigh, “The next few weeks then became a nightmare from which he and Lisa knew they couldn’t wake up. [Patrick] could have thrown in the towel right there and instructed his agent to put out the word that he had retired from movies, that he wasn’t accepting any more roles, but that wasn’t his way. How do you nurture a positive attitude when all the statistics say you’re a dead man? You go to work.”

And work he did. After receiving the news of his illness, Swayze called Sony executive Jamie Erlicht, whose company was co-producing his A&E show, “The Beast.” Remembers Erlicht: “He told us, ‘Guys, I have some horrible news. But if you can be patient and stand by me, I’m going to come back and do the show. I’m in great condition. I’m a cowboy. I’m a dancer. I’ll beat this.’”

While filming the TV series in Chicago, Swayze stayed focused on his work despite his sickness.

According to crew members, he worked as long as 12 hours at a time, all while refusing painkillers.

As intended, the star completed every one of his 12 episodes. When the show wrapped on Nov. 21 of last year, Swayze was hopeful for the future and his survival.

“My big regret is the physical damage I’ve done to my body,” he says. “I can do almost anything physically and I used to believe I was invincible, breaking bones over and over, playing football, doing gymnastics, diving, ballet, doing my own stunts, kick boxing, staging fights … it all seems a little stupid to me now.”

(source)

Cancer-stricken Patrick Swayze has been released from the hospital one week after checking himself in, his publicist said Friday.

Publicist Annett Wolf would not elaborate on the actor’s condition but told The Associated Press he “is well enough to have been released.” He is now resting at his L.A. home, Wolf said.

The star, who is battling pancreatic cancer, checked into the hospital with pneumonia on Jan. 9.

“He sounds really upbeat and positive,” his mother, Patsy Swayze, told said on Monday.

In a recent ABC primetime special, Swayze, 56, denied that he was on his deathbed but said he may have only two years to live.

“I’d say five years is pretty wishful thinking,” said The Beast actor, who revealed he had Stage 4 pancreatic cancer last year. “Two years seems likely if you’re going to believe statistics.

(source)

Continuing to remain positive as he battles pancreatic cancer, Patrick Swayze is hitting back against tabloid rumors about his health in an exclusive statement to PEOPLE.

“I’m very proud of the work I’ve done on my new series The Beast, and I am happy to be back home for the holidays. It’s a great feeling of accomplishment to say you’re gonna do something and do it,” says the actor, 56.

“The only thorn in my side being that many tabloids have been consistently reporting lies and false information about me and those close to me. And latest, they’re reporting that I’m on my last legs and saying goodbye to my tearful family!

“Pancreatic cancer is an aggressive disease and from the moment I was diagnosed, I knew I was in for the fight of my life. It’s a battle, and so far, I’ve been winning. I’m one of the lucky few that responds well to treatment.

“It’s upsetting that the shoddy and reckless reporting from these publications cast a negative shadow on the positive and good fight I’m fighting. For me, my family, and those close to me, it amounts to downright emotional cruelty. That makes me angry when hope is so precious.”

He concludes, “As always, I appreciate all the love and support people have sent and continue to send my way. I thank you.”

(source)

Cancer-stricken Patrick Swayze filmed his last scene for his TV show, The Beast, today in Chicago.

On Sunday, the star – who recently called the chemo to treat his pancreatic cancer “hell on wheels” – hit up Chicago hotspot Underground to celebrate.

Arriving just after 7 p.m. dressed casually in a hoodie and baseball cap, the actor joined his wife of 33 years, Lisa Niemi, brother, Don, and club owner Billy Dec on the club’s couches.

“He had scruffy facial hair and looked relaxed, laughing easily,” an eyewitness tells Us.

His drink of choice? Cosmos! The star ordered the Grey Goose cocktails at the bar and chatted with cast members and fans.

Swayze’s wife “mingled a little more than Patrick did, leaving the couch to grab a drink or talk to people, but mostly she remained at his side. Patrick let the party-goers come to him, never circulating around the room and rarely even standing up, but when others did come to him, he chatted at length with many of them,” the witness says.

By 8:45, Swayze and his wife said their goodbyes and called it a night.

“Patrick still looked healthy and rested when he left – he didn’t appear drained by the appearance at the event,” the onlooker tells Us.

Co-star Kevin O’Connor tells Us: “He has so much energy that you don’t think about his health. In fact, I look a lot more tired than Patrick does, some of the other crew members look a lot more tired than Patrick…and I mean that, too, which is weird.”

Adds O’Connor: “I loved working with him. He’s just a great guy, and he cares so much about what he does. I mean, he doesn’t let things go, he cares so much. So it made it easier for me, he would do the dirty work and I would just sort of coast.”

Swayze has been clocking 12-hour days on the set of his drama.

“I just love to work hard,” he told the New York Times last month in his first interview since his January diagnosis.

“I’m still fine to work. I haven’t changed – oh, I have changed, what am I saying?” Swayze admitted. “It’s a battle zone I go though. Chemo, no matter how you cut it, is hell on wheels.”

The show premieres on A&E Jan. 15.

(source)

Patrick Swayze is bouncing back: The actor’s television project has just been greenlighted by A&E and will start filming this summer.

Swayze, who says he has been responding well to treatment for pancreatic cancer, is set to star in the A&E drama The Beast alongside Aussie actor and former Tarzan star Travis Fimmel.

“I have searched for quite a long time to find a character that is this multi-layered, unpredictable and downright entertaining, as well as a project this current and cutting edged,” Swayze, 55, said in a statement from the network.

In the series, the actor has a starring role playing veteran FBI agent Charles Barker, who is assigned to teach his rookie partner (Fimmel) his eccentric undercover crime-solving methods while secretly being investigated by an Internal Affairs team. Production on the show begins this summer and will film on location in Chicago, with a scheduled premiere date of early 2009.

“Chicago is an amazing, untapped city. I can’t wait to get to work on this,” said Swayze.

The actor is currently undergoing care at Stanford University Medical Center and will continue his course of treatment during filming. The original pilot for the A&E series was shot last December, just three months before the actor revealed his cancer diagnosis.

Recently Swayze updated PEOPLE on his condition and showed no signs of slowing down, traveling with wife Lisa to Reno and attending a Los Angeles Lakers game.