Patrick Swayze has Pancreatic Cancer...

[MSTJedi]

Great piece, Courtney. Words to live by.

Especially these words:

"F*ck cancer. F*ck it hard."

Damn straight.

[bettertomorrowamy]

Yes, very nice tribute!  Swayze would approve!

[Natureboy]

That was a very good read!  Congrats Courtney!

[gbeenie]

Great column, Courtney.

[Rude]

...

Indiana Family Gives Swayze Hope

Movie star Patrick Swayze has been given a huge boost in his pancreatic cancer battle - an Indiana family has launched a campaign to force U.S. medical bosses to make a revolutionary new treatment available to sufferers. The Loughmans of Indianapolis launched their new initiative on Monday in a desperate bid to find a cure for the family matriarch, who ironically is a big fan of the ailing Ghost star. Connie Loughman was diagnosed with deadly pancreatic cancer last summer, just months before Swayze was diagnosed. As part of their public campaign, the Loughman family has launched the website CureConnieAndPatrick.com and they've also produced a new video promoting their efforts. A spokesman for the Loughmans says, "Well-meaning, but misguided, regulations have tied the hands of the Food & Drug Administration and the biotechnology firm, Genvec, from providing access to the only drug shown to cure the disease. Meanwhile, 90 percent of patients die within one year of being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and 95 percent are dead within five years of diagnosis. The Loughman family hopes that public pressure will convince the Fda and biotechnology firm, Genvec, to cut through the red tape and grant access of the gene therapy Tnferade to Mrs. Loughman... and others battling pancreatic cancer, including actor Patrick Swayze."

-Rude

[Minnesota]

FDA gets a bad rap, they're just trying to create standards. As a smoker I realize the risks of my habbit and I'm sure Patrick Swayze knew the risks. Can't go blaming everything on FDA, its thinking like that that makes books like http://www.infomercialsitv.com/naturalcures.htm best sellers

[Rude]

...

It seems a little opportunistic for them to use Patrick Swayze's name to push their agenda. As far as i know, he has nothing to do with their website. And i haven't really looked over the information regarding TNFerade, but i'm not sure Swayze himself supports pushing it through the FDA for approval. I just posted the story here for it's relevance since it seems like branding the effort with Swayze's name has been pretty effective... as far as media coverage is concerned.

-Rude

[bettertomorrowamy]

Reminds me of that scene from "Man on the Moon" where he goes to that holistic healer and gets that fake chunk of meat pulled out of him.

Pancreatic cancer would make me a believer though.

[bratpop]

Er, so how does this Indiana family know about some top secret, hushed-up treatment that the FDA won't pass?

[AmandaGal]

That drug (it's actually a DNA vector type thing) is in clinical trials.  If you qualify, you can possibly have access to the drug.  Their site says they are looking for people to join the study.

Maybe the Swaze can join.

http://www.centerwatch.com/trials/trial2472.html

People who complain about the FDA "red tape" are usually the first to complain when a drug is found out to have side effects years later.  "They should have told us."   You can't have it both ways.

I guess in pancreatic cancer, it doesn't matter much.  The FDA actually has a "fast track" for terminal illnesses and rare diseases though.  I assume this drug is in such a track.  It looks like their original study didn't have many participants anyway.

[Quicksilver]

I doubt he would join the study. Mostly because it takes a certain type of person to do something like that. If you've got one of the quickest and most irreversible type of cancer, you probably just want to make the most of your life. I've seen 2 people go from pancreatic cancer and it was really fast, and really painful for everyone around. I wouldnt think he'd want to be in an experiment.

That and I wish they said more on that site, it's not the most promising, but definitely very experimental.

[SecretAgentSuperDragon]

Well there is this:

Actor Patrick Swayze - who revealed he is suffering from pancreatic cancer earlier this month - is taking an experimental drug in a bid to beat cancer.

The Dirty Dancing star is taking Vatalanib, a new treatment being developed in the ongoing fight with the potentially fatal disease.

Dr M Wasif Saif, the Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Yale University's Gastrointestinal Program, said Patrick should respond well to the drug because of his high fitness levels.

Dr Saif told America's OK! magazine: "The drug that Patrick Swayze is taking, Vatalanib, is still in the experimental stage. But recent studies have shown promise for patients taking the drug who are in excellent physical shape."

Patrick is a keen dancer and horse rider, and his friend John Fusano insists the 55-year-old is in great physical shape.

Fusano, who owns the East Valley Feed and Tack company, said: "Patrick orders supplies for his horses from us. I haven't seen him in a while, but he's a strapping giant of a man. He's got tree trunks for legs!"

Vatalanib blocks the growth and spread of cancer by affecting molecules specifically involved in carcinogenesis - the process which turns normal cells into cancerous cells.

Experimental drugs are generally only used on patients suffering from a terminal illness.

Patrick's representative Dr George Fisher has denied reports the Ghost actor has only weeks to live, insisting: "All of the reports stating the timeframe of his prognosis and his physical side effects are absolutely untrue.

"We are considerably more optimistic."

[Quicksilver]

well that kind of fills in the missing piece, now I take back everything. 

[Plastic Self-Cleaning Duck]

Watched Keeping Mum again last night....

That sexy devil is 55?!?!? 

[bettertomorrowamy]

In an exclusive statement to PEOPLE readers, Swayze says:

"Thought I'd give you guys a little update. Lisa and I have been back and forth from New Mexico enjoying the arrival of spring and new baby calves. This past weekend, we spent a fun time with friends in Reno for Lisa's birthday, where I took her jewelry shopping at Kenny G & Company and (we) were able to find her something really special and much deserved! In the meantime, I am continuing treatment at Stanford and the great news is I continue to respond well."
http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20202714,00.html