The deadly truth about Pancreatic Cancer

He grabbed my attention when he danced all over the big screen in Dirty Dancing but it was the movie Ghost that made me a fan of actor Patrick Swayze. After almost a 2 year battle with pancreatic cancer Swayze died today. While many blogs are giving you the news about Patrick I have a more personal story to tell.

 

It was Fall of 2004 and I remember a neighbor coming to my job to tell me that my uncle (who I lived next door to) didn't look to well and had been in his car sitting for over an hour. I ran (i could run then) and talked Uncle Charles (pictured right with me, Jami B.) out of the car and onto the steps of his apartment. Halfway up I knew he wouldn't make it and instructed him to have a seat. He didn't have any children and was never married and my mother was out of town so it was up to me to figure out what my next move was. Not knowing what to do I called 911, and after some complaints my uncle finally decided to get into the ambulance. I'm glad he did because after a short stay in the hospital and a return for more test, results showed that my Uncle Charles had cancer. Just years after my dad had battled and beat prostate cancer I went in like oh cancer, thats all, we can beat this thing. Then the doctor said he has Pancreatic Cancer and said it in a tone of such seriousness that I immediately knew that this Cancer wasn't going to be a simple fight and eventually we would lose the battle. And less than 3 months later, after my entire family put on boxing gloves and got in the ring, we lost the battle, and our Uncle Charles. It was the first time we lost a close family member to cancer and proved to be just the start of a long lasting relationship my family would have with the disease. 

I tell this story not to take the spotlight away from Patrick Swayze but to let people know that this thing called CANCER is a beast. It is something that could be as close to claiming the life of your favorite actor, favorite uncle or even a friend. If you know someone battling cancer right now, understand that while treatment is getting better, there is still a risk and those living with Cancer need your support. Sorry if this was too long for our daily readers or not as humorous as we may be but this was important for me to share. Thank you for allowing me to share my personal story with you. Its Cancer people. It's a terrible disease and we all must do what we can to help find a CURE.