I just love Patrick Swayze and I am praying that he will get well soon. Even if he cannot return to theatres…I just want him to be well. It is sick that people love to write such trash. What is this world coming too.

Dr. Manny-thanks for your opinion about this story about Patrick Swazey.
having been a Hospice/private duty/long-term care nurse, I have seen miracles happen. Pancreatic cancer can be devastating and it is a terribly painful disease! Yes, this man is in for the battle of his life! He is an inspiration to cancer patients everywhere!
As of next month, (hopefully) I will have been breast-cancer-free for 5 years! My sense of humor , friends, career, got me through the rough times.
I kept busy, when i could, ate right and laughed a lot. This is what is getting Patrick through! SHAME on those tabloids!!!!!!!!!! “nuff said”.
Nursekate

My husband has been recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and when I read the article on Patrick Swayze the other day, my heart sank. I don’t believe everything I read, but just having it put out there was very distressing. My children and I are cheering our dad/husband on and he is filled with hope and optomism. There are some patients who survive every type of cancer, and that survivor could be you or your loved one. Please don’t dash our hope!

THE TABLOIDS WILL HAVE YOU IN THE GROUND QUICKER THAN A 120 WORD PER MIN. TYPEIST
I TOO WISH PATRICK ALL THE BEST. KNOW WHERE HE IS GOING. MY WIFE SUFFERS FROM COLON CANCER, IN REMISSION THANK YOU.

Dr. Manny is full of baloney, the cancer survival rate is not over 50% and most recurring cancers come about because of the horrible so-called therapies of modern medicine. If I had a degenerative disease I would see a witch doctor before I would ever consider modern medicine.

The technology that has prolonged Patrick Swayze’s life is called CyberKnife. If the chemo doesn’t kill him, CyberKnife may even save his life.

CyberKnife uses robotically-controlled convergent beams of radiation to very accurately ablate tumors noninvasively without the risks, side effects or recovery issues of open surgery, conventional radiation or chemo.

CyberKnife is FDA approved and just now being adopted and put into use at leading hospitals throughout the world. The results are spectacular. Many leading advocates believe that, in time, CyberKnife will become the standard of care for early stage lung, prostate and many other forms of cancer.

Nevertheless, many docs still don’t know the first thing about it and others, heavily invested in outdated competing treatment paradigms, either won’t tell their patients about it or will pooh-pooh it if patients ask about it.

If you want to do your own research, here’s a good place to start…

http://www.cksociety.org

http://www.accuray.com

I wish Patrick Swayze the best in his fight against pancreatic cancer. The fact that he is responding well to chemo, and is back at work, is very encouraging. The tabloids, unfortunately, feel the need to print rumor, and say that it is the truth. I think Mr. Swayze looks fantastic, and hope that he keeps up/

My mother died last year after battling four different types of cancer (breast, ovarian, Uterine and lung) during the last thirty-four years of her life. The last ten years or so she participated in studies because the doctors said it was very rare for a person to have four different types of cancer such as she was stricken with. She never felt sorry for herself and died at peace with the world.

I find tabloid stories like this lower than the worms in the ground. All I can say is it must have been a very slow news week! Just another reason not to believe anything they write and not to buy their filth.

Windfall- great comment on cyberknife. Our hospital in Dallas (Baylor) has it and there have been many successes with it. My prayers are that Mr. Swayze beat this disease and he and his family have peace through it without the horrible sensationalistic media -shame on them, I dont know how they sleep at night.
Robert R – I hope you do research and see that there are many options in modern medicine that can give quality of life to people who have this disease and many other diseases.

These so-called journalists have no souls.

Well….certainly positive thoughts contribute to the healing process but be careful with looking through the rosy glasses at cancer. The ugly fact that no one wants to talk about is the stats concerned with brain tumors in pediatric patients. These are EARLY detected cancers yet in many cases the survival rate hovers at or below 10%. These kids go through surgery, radiation, chemo, and oftentimes experimental procedures and yet still “lose” the fight against cancer. Anyway, I recommend to anyone that is trying to learn more about cancer and/or to help to spend a couple of hours on the oncology floor of a children’s hospital and then tell me if you believe we have “won” the war vs. cancer. LT

People these days are learning to believe nothing of what they hear, 1% of what they read
10% of what they see.

Robert R.

I feel sorry for you. I pray that you never have a family member that needs your support. When you know what you are talking about, maybe then you can write on here again, Until then…

I hope that Patrick Swayze continues to get stronger and beat this. My prayers are with him and his family as he recovers.

thanks for posting this. The preciousness of life has indeed been lost in view of the dollar, some fame, and personal gain. keep it up, friend.

God Bless Patrick in his fight with pancreatic cancer. We all remember the speed with which Michael Landon lost his fight, and the fact that Patrick is back at work is totally inspiring. You go, guy!

What really disturbs me is that no one is held accountable for the ongoing and totally irresponsible news reporting that just continues and continues. If they are a NEWS organization, not a commentary program, they should be forced to report accurate NEWS, not their political opinion. We all condemn State run news in foreign countries, BUT for a few dollars, someone in a basement can buy and distribute fase stories to the major networks and newspapers. Thank God FOX news has not succumbed to that low level. Free press is one thing, FALSE press is quite another!

Why does the press always print the worst and bad of everything,NOTHING GOOD IS REPORTED. My father passed with same cancer in a small rural town, I PRAY FOR PATRICKS SPEEDY RECOVERY. I WOULDN ‘T WISH CANCER ON MY WORST ENEMY. EVERYONE NEEDS TO PRAY MORE EACH DAY FOR ALL.

Robert R. said:
“Dr. Manny is full of baloney, the cancer survival rate is not over 50% and most recurring cancers come about because of the horrible so-called therapies of modern medicine. If I had a degenerative disease I would see a witch doctor before I would ever consider modern medicine.”

Quit bashing Dr. Manny. I bet you have no medical training, or a reputable souce of medical info. You have twisted Dr. Manny’s sentence that reads “If you look at the statistics of most early-detected cancers, the survival rate is well over 50 percent.” In my medical practice, I have saved a lot of lives by early screening for colon (colonoscopy) and breast (mammography) cancers. For prostate cancer, I’m not sure the data is clear. It is unfortunate that we don’t have a screening test for pancreatic cancer. I believe the data that suggests that most preventable cancers are caused by smoking. I’m sure environmental pollution also plays a role. I also acknowledge that chemotherapy and radiation do have toxic side effects, including the higher risk of developing a different type of cancer in the future. But as with any medical treatment, doctors weigh the risks and benefits before recommending it to the patient.

So, Robert R., go see your “witch doctor.” I urge the general public to make sure you are up to date with all your preventive health care with your primary care physician, including age-appropriate cancer screenings. Don’t smoke, and maintain a healthy weight.

Re: Windfall’s comments on the CyberKnife.

Technology is great and all. As a primary care physician, I must remind the public that prevention is the best cure, not just for cancer but the majority of illnesses. Prevention is cheap and effective. To increase the chance of good health, people should not smoke, drink alcohol in moderation if at all, avoid drugs, eat a healthy diet, exercise regularly, and maintain a healthy weight. They should also be up to date with age-appropriate cancer screening, notably cervical (Pap smears / HPV testing), colon (colonoscopy), breast (mammogram), and prostate (PSA blood test – I will not discuss the controversy here). Unfortunately, we do not have an effective screening test for pancreatic cancer. There are many non-cancer related health issues, including cholesterol (LDL, HDL, triglycerides), blood sugar, vaccinations, baby aspirin (for heart attack prevention, only if your doctor recommends), seatbelt and bicycle helmet use…

I realize that there are many barriers to achieving the above (e.g. lack of health insurance, lack of time or $ to see the doctor or to get recommended tests done, many other priorities in life). I just try to convince people to move health higher on their list of priorities.

Hooray for you! It is high time that someone went after the negative spin reporters, especially those that can impact life or death!

My heart goes out to Patrick Swayze. You are right about hope. It is the one thing you absolutely have to have if you are going to survive cancer. My mom was always told by her doctors that she was going to die. She never heard any good news from the oncologist, but my mom had hope. She had faith that she could be better and beat cancer. In the end it meant a lot. Sure, she did eventually succomb to her cancer, but she had a diagnosis of about 6- 9 months and instead she lived 7 years to the day. Her faith carried her through and allowed her to see things and do things that she never would have otherwise. Please if someone you know is battling this terrible disease, please encourage them as often as you can, even if it is just a little card that is sent. My mom cherished every card she received. These little things carry people through the hard times.

Baffled why an outlet would publish negative news? Really? It’s pretty simple to me – “Swayze on deathbed” sells a lot more magazine/newspapers/website hits than “Swayze doing well”.

People in general love bad news (as long as it doesn’t affect them); sad but true. I for one would love to see some pushback and a bit more demand for balanced news but I can’t see it ever happening – scandal, tragedy, war and horror are an addictive diet and people have been fed it for years now.

Cancer can be beat with prayer and natural remedies – my son Jaymun is living proof of that – http://www.jaymun.com

Thank You Doctor Manny, for this breath of fresh air, reminding us to always look through lifes battles with hope and cheering one another on.

I totally agree with the Dr’s article on Patrick Swayze. It is a crying shame that the media cant be held accountable in some way to stop the lies and negativity that they do to people, especially people who are terminally ill or have a scary disease such as cancer.

My grandmother who passed in 2005, fought cancer in her mid to late seventies(and beat it). She was such an inspiration. She had the best attitude and I think that is what got her through was her positive and of course her christian faith. But when you see or hear such grap on TV or news articles it really disgusts me when we find out they are nothing but lies.

Anyway I just wanted to vent and tell the Dr. how much he is totally right.

Sincerely

Marcy Glaze

Are you KIDDING ME????? While I sympathize with those who battle cancer and my heart and prayers pour out for miracles…..let’s pray for those who have cancer without CHOICE! I can’t believe even YOU….a doctor….will not address the REAL issues here….ALCOHOLISM AND SMOKING!!! Mr. Swayze undergos chemo and CONTINUES to smoke endlessly! He doesn’t want to live. I have lost 4 grandparents to HORRIBLE deaths from smoking (before they had all that they have today to help people quit) AND my husband is a chain smoker (became one after we were married) and my children and I will, any day now, walk down a path of pure HELL because of his daily choices! The tabloids should exploit the fact that Mr. Swayze has NO regard for life even as he battles cancer…..what about the child who lays in a bed dying of cancer who had NO CHOICE while He continues to puff away. That child and their parents would give ANYTHING….do ANYTHING to save their childs life….yet he so GREATLY disregards it!!! As you can tell…I have seen cancer in the precious lives of those I have dearly loved….and there is more hell to come….WHY? Because of their own choices in life…..AND because they refused to get help.

Let’s spend our time praying for those who WANT to live and have respect for the life they are given!!! Here’s a start to get a proper perspective…….go visit a children’s cancer center!

I have late-stage cancer. I made the choice that I would forgo chemo, when presented with a 25 percent chance of survival with a particularly painful option of a peritonial-cathetared chemo. Everybody thought I had made the wrong choice, but I’ve lived a good life, raised my son, and I wasn’t going to destroy my quality of life only to die anyway. Every time I pass the rooms with the folks getting chemo, I shudder. With a 25 percent chance of survival, meaning making it FIVE years, possibly going from one chemo round to the next, I am happy with my CHOICE. My family, friends, and the medical profession are shocked that though I am riddled with tumors and smoke, I’ve happily survived two and a half years with my diagnosis, with a glowing complextion to boot.

Living and chosing life is also about the quality of that life. I would rather spend two and a half years or more without barfing and a probable ticket of that cancer showing up someplace else because my immune system is so whacked. I smoke, because it’s my time now to do what the heck I want! I don’t need a mother telling my how to enjoy my last days and I don’t need anybody pitying me for a prognosis we all face one from some cause or another.

Something tells me Swayze might just get a kick reading about how he’s on his deathbed. Its those who haven’t gone through the process of cancer and initiation into the probability of passing who fear it the most, which is a natural survival instinct.