By Marisa Laudadio
2:34am PDT, Aug 7, 2023
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Pancreatic cancer is currently the third deadliest form of cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. About 95% of people with the disease die from it — in large part because by the time symptoms emerge, it's already spread to other organs. A surprising number of celebrities have been diagnosed with the disease over the years, and though most have not survived it, there are a lucky few who have. Join us as we take a look at some of the most notable names who've had pancreatic cancer …
Actor, dancer and singer Patrick Swayze was one of the first big names to go public with his pancreatic cancer diagnosis, which helped bring attention to the lack of early detection and treatment for the devastatingly deadly cancer. The "Dirty Dancing" star was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in January 2008 and passed away 20 months later in September 2009 at 57.
While he was sick, he spoke openly about his symptoms and treatment. "I tried to have champagne, and it would be like pouring acid, you know, on an open wound," the "Ghost" star told journalist Barbara Walters about experiencing early symptoms during a New Year's Eve celebration at the end of 2007. "My indigestion issues got gigantic and constant. And then I started thinking, I'm getting skinny. I dropped about 20 pounds in the blink of an eye. And then when you see it in the mirror, when all of a sudden, you pull your eyes down and the bottom of your eyes go yellow and jaundice sets in — then you know something's wrong."
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Charlotte Rae — the actress best known as Mrs. Garrett on the sitcoms "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life" — died in August 2018 a little more than a year after she was diagnosed with bone cancer, which came several years after she beat pancreatic cancer, which ran in her family.
When she publicly announced her bone cancer news in 2017, she had this to say: "About seven years ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer — which is a miracle that they found it because usually it's too late. My mother, sister and my uncle died of pancreatic cancer. After six months of chemotherapy, I was cancer-free. I lost my hair, but I had beautiful wigs. Nobody even knew.
"So now, at the age of 91, I have to make up my mind. I'm not in any pain right now. I'm feeling so terrific and so glad to be above ground. Now I have to figure out whether I want to go have treatment again to opt for life. I love life. I've had a wonderful one already. I have this decision to make." Fifteen months later, Charlotte passed away at 92.
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Skilled, respected Emmy-winning TV game show host Alex Trebek helped entertain audiences for nearly five decades — until he lost his battle with pancreatic cancer at 80 in November 2020. "Just like 50,000 other people in the United States each year, this week I was diagnosed with stage 4 pancreatic cancer," he said in a video shared with fans on social media days after his March 2020 diagnosis, going on to add some of his trademark humor. "Now, normally, the prognosis for this is not very encouraging, but I'm going to fight this and I'm going to keep working, and with the love and support of my family and friends — and with the help of your prayers, also — I plan to beat the low survival-rate statistics for this disease. Truth told, I have to. Because under the terms of my contract I have to host 'Jeopardy!' for three more years." Alex lived for 20 months after his diagnosis, defying the odds as at the time, the one-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer was 18%.
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Alan Rickman — the beloved actor younger generations will remember as Professor Snape in the "Harry Potter" film franchise — was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer in the mid-2000s and had a prostatectomy in 2006. Less than a decade later, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, reportedly after he suffered a suspected stroke in the summer of 2015. He died in January 2016 at 69.
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In 2003, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a neuroendocrine tumor that started in his pancreas. This type of pancreatic cancer is different and develops much slower than the more common and more aggressive type of pancreatic cancer known as adenocarcinoma. He underwent surgery, but the disease returned and spread to his liver. The technology icon died in 2011 at 56. For the type of cancer the tech icon had, "seven years [of survival] is not uncommon," Dr. Baburao Koneru, then chief of the Division of Hepatobiliary Surgery at UMDNJ-The University Hospital in Newark, New Jersey, told ABC News at the time, adding that "it's quite different from the common form of pancreatic cancer."
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The Queen of Soul, music star Aretha Franklin, died in 2018 at 76 from complications of pancreatic cancer. She was first diagnosed — reportedly nearly eight years earlier — with a neuroendocrine tumor in the pancreas, much like Apple CEO Steve Jobs, and although this type is much slower-growing than the more common type of pancreatic cancer, she still ultimately lost her battle with the disease.
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Maria Menounos was treated for a benign brain tumor in 2017. Then in January 2023, the former E! News host was diagnosed with a stage 2 pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor at 44. Her path to the discovery began in 2022 as she faced a different health issue, Maria told People magazine in a May 2023 interview. She began suffering from severe leg cramps in June 2022 and learned she had type 1 diabetes, which runs in her family. She adopted a strict diet and began taking insulin and monitoring her glucose levels and things improved quickly. By October 2022, she felt much better, but a month later, she headed to the hospital "with excruciating abdominal pain coupled with diarrhea."
A CT scan and testing couldn't find anything wrong but her pain continued to the point that it felt "like someone was tearing my insides out," Maria said. She then underwent a whole-body MRI with a company called Prenuvo, which revealed she had a 3.9 cm mass on her pancreas. She later shared during a July 2023 appearance on the "Not Skinny But Not Fat" podcast that by the time doctors discovered her tumor, it had doubled in size. "When they found the tumor in the MRI [in January 2023], they said, 'Can we go back and get the records and look at the November [2022] scan? I bet it was there,'" she said, explaining that a radiologist had missed it on the first scan. "And it was. At that point it was 2 centimeters and by the time they had found it was almost 4 centimeters — it had doubled in size in two months."
In February 2023, Maria underwent surgery to remove the tumor, part of her pancreas, her spleen, a fibroid and 17 lymph nodes. She has not required chemotherapy or additional treatment; instead, she'll have annual scans for five years.
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Monty Python member Eric Idle was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2019 when he was in his late 70s — and he beat the disease. "My doctor specializes in preventative medicine, and he makes me go for blood tests every year," the comedic actor told People magazine in 2022. "He noticed a difference in the markers from the previous year, so he ordered an MRI and asked them to add contrast. That lit up the pancreas, and there it was." Within a few days, he'd undergone "a partly robotic" five-hour surgery. "I had a fantastic surgeon … and he cut it all out because it wasn't attached to anything; it was intact," the star recalled. "The technicians had never seen it in that state before because they'd never seen it that early."
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In April 2023, controversy-loving talk show host and former Cincinnati mayor Jerry Springer passed away at 79. According to his spokesperson, he died after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.
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"Little House on the Prairie" and "Bonanza" star Michael Landon went public with his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in April 1991. He died three months later in July 1991 at 54.
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Astronaut Sally Ride — the first American woman to travel in space — died from pancreatic cancer in 2012 at 61 after a health battle that reportedly lasted for 17 months.
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In September 2021, "Sex and the City" actor Willie Garson died at his home in Los Angeles after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He was 57.
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Oscar-winning actress Donna Reed — the famed beauty known for her work in "From Here to Eternity," "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Donna Reed Show" — passed away at 64 in 1986 just three months after she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
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Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — who was treated for multiple cancers in her final decades, including colon cancer in 1999 and cancerous lesions in her lung in 2018 — was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2009 after it was discovered at an early stage while she was getting an unrelated checkup. Doctors removed her pancreas and spleen but it returned in 2019. She died in 2020 after it metastasized to her liver.
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Famed fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld died in February 2019 from what was widely reported to be pancreatic cancer. He was 85.
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In 1977, Academy Award winner Joan Crawford died in her New York City apartment from a heart attack while battling pancreatic cancer. The "Mildred Pierce" and "Mommie Dearest" actress's real age has remained a mystery, but at the time of her death, she was believed to be between 69 and 73.
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Famed Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in July 2021. He died almost a month later. He was 91.
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In June 2015, two-time Oscar nominee John Hurt announced that he had been "diagnosed with early-stage pancreatic cancer." The "Midnight Express," "The Elephant Man" and "Harry Potter" film franchise actor continued to work while undergoing chemotherapy and by that October, he was in remission. However, the cancer returned and he passed away in January 2017 just days after his 77th birthday.
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Italian opera icon Luciano Pavarotti underwent surgery in July 2006 after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In September 2007, he died from the disease at 71.
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Joe Jackson — the manager and father of the famed Jackson family music stars including Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson — was hospitalized with stage 4 pancreatic cancer in June 2018 and died in hospice care later the same month.
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Famed Oscar-winning film composer Henry Mancini died from complications of pancreatic cancer in 1994 — less than four months after he was diagnosed. The talented music star was 70.
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After suffering stomach pains in early December 1974, comedy star Jack Benny was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died at 80 just a few weeks later.
