Patrick Swayze Battles Pancreatic Cancer
Popular actor Patrick Swayze, star of Ghost, Dirty Dancing, has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
His mother, Patsy Swayze, has admitted that her son has the disease, but refuted claims by the National Enquirer that he only has weeks to live.
Pancreatic cancer is a particularly aggressive disease, and has a low survival rate, with few sufferers living beyond five years after diagnosis.
The Pancreas: Structure and Function
The pancreas is a gland, and is a part of the digestive and endocrine systems.
It secretes pancreatic juice containing digestive enzymes and produces several important hormones, including insulin, glucagon, and somatostatin.
Cancer Symptoms:
Symptoms can include pain in the abdomen that spread to the back.
Other symptoms are loss of appetite, significant weight loss and painless jaundice related to bile duct obstruction.
Because these symptoms can have multiple other causes, pancreatic cancer often isn’t diagnosed until it is well advanced.
Risk Factors:
Some common risk factors include:
- Age
- Male gender
- African ethnicity
- Smoking. Cigarette smoking causes a 75% risk increase, and the risk persists for at least a decade after quitting.
- Diets high in red meat
- Obesity
- Diabetes mellitus
- Chronic pancreatitis
- Helicobacter pylori infection
- Occupational exposure to certain pesticides, dyes, and chemicals related to gasoline
- Family history
About Patrick Swayze:
Born in Houston, Texas to Jesse Wayne Swayze and Patsy Swayze on August 18, 1952, patrick Swayze is an American dancer, actor, singer and songwriter.
Married to Lisa Niemi in 1975, Swayze was voted sexiest man alive in 1991.
His breakthrough came in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, and he also had a hit with the 1990 film Ghost.
While it’s hard for anyone to cope with news such as this, the actions of the National Enquirer in sensationalizing the news is pretty pathetic, and would only add to the emotional turmoil that the diagnosis brings.
Please note that the information about the disease is very general, and should not be used for self diagnosis.
Links for further information are included.
As noted above, some of the symptoms listed are common to other ailments, and should be checked by a health professional.
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