Cancer-stricken actor Patrick Swayze is finally setting the record on his health.
According to the “Ghost” star, fans shouldn’t believe what they read in tabloids. Swayze says he is responding well to treatment for pancreatic cancer and “feels great.”
The actor issued a public statement to PEOPLE magazine yesterday saying that he continues to live a full and busy life despite being diagnosed with the insidious disease.
The statement read in part:
“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 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.”
Swayze and his wife also took in a Lakers game a few days ago where paps snapped the pair snuggling with each other in between plays.
If you saw the pictures you might have noticed that Swayze appears as though he lost a significant amount of weight and his hair is much thinner, but for the most part he looks very good for a 55-year-old who is fighting a deadly disease.
And his trip to Reno… Swayze is sick, yet he still has the energy and thoughtfulness to purchase his wife a diamond pendant. What a guy.
On a sadder note, Leeza Gibbons has confirmed that her mom Gloria Jean recently lost her battle against Alzheimer’s disease.
Gibbons says that her 72-year-old mother passed away last week from complications associated with the disease.
“My mom was emancipated recently from the prison of confusion that has kept her hostage for a decade,” Gibbons wrote on her personal website.
The former “Dancing with the Stars” contestant dedicated her last dance on the show to her mom and was very vocal about her mother’s condition. Gibbons quit her job as host of TV’s “Extra” to spend more time with her mom and then went on to create the Leeza Gibbons Memory Foundation and Leeza’s Place, which provides support for patients and caregivers dealing with chronic illness in eight locations nationwide.