Tampa Film Fan

patrick swayze has cancer

I just happened to catch five seconds of Entertainment Tonight while I was flipping channels. Patrick Swayze has pancreatic cancer.

Damn.

Swayze’s rep says that he’s responding well to treatment and that things aren’t as grim as tabloids (um, The National Enquirer) suggest.

What weird timing, with guitarist (and Swayze co-star in Roadhouse) Jeff Healey’s death from cancer two days ago.

I’ve taken some teasing over the years for being a Swayze fan, but that never stopped me from professing my love for his roles in Dirty Dancing, Ghost, To Wong Fu, Point Break, Red Dawn…and yes, even “It’s my way or the highway” Roadhouse. His one-armed Confederate vet Ozzy Main is the reason I watched every second of North and South when I was 15. I even made it all the way through Steel Dawn.

I wish Swayze and his wife Lisa the best.