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Patrick Swayze Gives Up Ghost
Actor and dancer Patrick Swayze died at the age of 57 today after a long, brave battle with pancreatic cancer, which is almost always fatal. Not that I was a big fan, but I did like him in "Roadhouse" and "Ghost" and I admired his cheerful perseverance. We could all use a little of that nowadays.
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I think most could use a goodly dose of his courage and perseverance he exhibited since his diagnosis. RIP Patrick!
September 15, 2009 12:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
For those of us without subscriptions to People or Star -- or any other magazines of their ilk -- it would be helpful, nay, enlightening, if you could provide us with some examples of this fellow's purported "courage and perseverance."
In the absence thereof may we assume that your panegyric is nothing more than a form of celebrity-worshiping and as typical of the convention, unsupported by any concrete evidence?
September 15, 2009 1:53 PM | Reply | Permalink
Sure, bitch.
First, I don't subscribe to any magazines at all, but got my information from the web, where it made news for all the world to read.
Second, I have to note your sad lack of basic research skills.
Third, let me help, nay, enlighten you, about the "courage and perseverance" of a person diagnosed with Stage IV pancreatic cancer in January 2008 who survives 18 months until yesterday.
From wikipedia: "Patients diagnosed with pancreatic cancer typically have a poor prognosis partly because the cancer usually causes no symptoms early on, leading to locally advanced or metastatic disease at time of diagnosis. Median survival from diagnosis is around 3 to 6 months ... With 37,170 cases diagnosed in the United States in 2007, and 33,700 deaths, pancreatic cancer has one of the highest fatality rates of all cancers and is the fourth highest cancer killer in the United States among both men and women."
Oh, but I can see you need more enlightenment. So let me direct you to my personal knowledge of cancer in general and pancreatic cancer in particular. My grandfather died of colon cancer 25 years ago, my stepmother of skin cancer less than three years ago and my father of lung cancer this year. A good friend of mine died of pancreatic cancer four years ago and did not live long after he was diagnosed.
What instruction might this all provide to a sniveling, incurable cynic such as you?
That cancer is a painful disease, more painful than anything you have ever sneered at in your life. And that Swayze was first and foremost a human being.
Surprising, isn't it? That someone far more talented than your hateful screed reveals you are could also be just a human being with a wife who will miss him and a life whose loss he mourned while struggling to beat a death sentence on his head. He carried on cheerfully, not wanting to leave Naomi, the wife he stayed married to for 34 years until his death. He returned briefly to work. He went through all the incredibly painful treatments that make you puke for days, make you feel like shit the next week, and that never stop the ache of your body eating itself from within. I know that pain. I've seen it up close and personal and often.
That's close enough in my book ... Ellen. What have you done lately that makes you so courageous and persevereant? I mean, besides being able to bitch.
September 15, 2009 3:46 PM | Reply | Permalink
I am not a "celebrity" follower...Having said that, whenever someone who has the eyes/ear of the public shares such a horrific experience with us, it shines a light on the diseases, raises awareness and we are all the better for it. Farrah Fawcett and Lance Armstrong are others who allowed us a glimpse of what it is like to face such a scary thing.
Although the tragedy is no less awful when it happens to "just regular folks" their situations do not make it onto the news, and even if they did, few would pay attention. Sad, but true.
September 15, 2009 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ellen,
I'll never understand why you consistently feel the need to snark and try to demean posts/comments without good reason. But, that's your choice. If it gives you satisfaction and/or pleasure - that says more about you than those you attempt to denigrate.
FYI - I've read and heard his philosophy on his illness, treatment and the importance of putting family first. He was gracious, without rancor, and continued to work up until the end. He tried new treatments, with the goal of at least giving needed medical data to help others.
Have a nice day.
September 15, 2009 4:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ripper, this is pretty harsh. You didn't reveal any of your personal connection in your blog, so how was Ellen to know? You also didn't elaborate at all about your views on fighting cancer in general or on Patrick Swayze in particular. You wrote three sentences and a cavalier title.
Ellen can be strident and sarcastic and cutting and cynical. In my opinion, you've taken that way too personally and you owe her an apology.
September 15, 2009 4:08 PM | Reply | Permalink
She doesn't have to know about my personal connections to have respect for a dead man who never harmed her but did enrich many lives. So let me call "bullshit" on your concern for poor Ellen. If anything, she owes me and every other person whose family or friends have struggled with cancer. Since that includes just about everyone, she might have restricted her usual shitty attitude in this case.
September 15, 2009 6:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
BTW, this is not the first time I've written on health care or on cancer or on those close to me who lost that fight.
September 15, 2009 6:49 PM | Reply | Permalink