Speaking on Good Morning America during pancreatic cancer awareness month, Lisa Nieme said Swayze “didn’t want to be the face of the cancer sign,” but his “huge heart” wouldn’t let him sit idly by, so he did. anything he wanted could help others.
“I’ve always said, especially with the roles that Patrick loved to play, that he always liked being a hero. I always said, ‘Give him a sword and a cape and a horse and he’ll be a happy man,'” said Swayze’s wife , who has now remarried. “But I’m telling you, when it came to his battle with the disease, this plague, he really proved that he was a true hero.”
It is known that the star of the film “Dirty Dancing” was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in January 2008, and already in the 4th stage. Lisa Nieme describes her battle with the disease, which Swayze lost at the age of 57, as “a grueling, difficult and determined battle that lasted 22 months.” She has spent 34 years of her life with her husband.
She says even a small participation in making the life of a cancer patient or loved one easier is a “great honour”.
“Just because Patrick left didn’t mean the fight was over, and I kept it that way for him,” says Lisa Nieme.
She vividly remembers the day she and her husband were walking around their ranch in New Mexico and he grabbed her hand. “It was a beautiful day, her eyes were shining and she said, ‘I want to live,'” she recalled. “I know everyone else dealing with this disease and their families feel the same way.”
The battle with cancer is said to have revealed the side of her husband he always wanted to be: truly brave, humble, loving, determined and strong. She looked at her husband and his achievements with great admiration and awe.
“He’s had his moments,” says Liza Nieme. “But of course Patrick always knew he’d be the one to pay the ultimate price. You know, it’s not fair that his life was taken so quickly. I don’t want him to happen to other people.”
“The fact that November is Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month is so important,” Swayze’s wife said. “The only way to stop it is through funding and research, better care and early diagnosis.”
After Swayze’s death, Lisa Nieme was devastated. She also wrote about it in her 2012 biopic.
“Grief is really uncomfortable and very difficult to deal with,” she said. “Over time, they never go away. It’s like a wound that heals, but the scar stays forever. And it might not be as visible, but it’s always there.”
This year has been particularly difficult for her, as Swayze would have turned 70 in August of this year.
