Patrick Swayze is just one of the nicest guys in the world

Patrick Swayze Slammed by National Enquirer

How to announce — or hide — Patrick Swayze’s illness proved to be quite a PR dilemma Wednesday. Rather than do what so many professionals have done — own up to it and blunt the story in advance — his press people did nothing but stonewall.

The result is a story Thursday on the cover of the National Enquirer saying that not only does Swayze have pancreatic cancer, which was confirmed, but that he has only five weeks to live.

So much pain could have been avoided here. The Enquirer doesn’t care what it writes, true or false, or a little bit of both. It’s amazing to me that they proceeded to publication and no one tried to stop them.

Patrick Swayze Diagnosed With Pancreatic Cancer

Simply issuing a statement, like the one that came later Wednesday afternoon from Swayze’s doctor, would have done the trick.

Now — as if it matters, frankly — it’s hard to know whom to believe.

One thing’s certain: Swayze didn’t just get sick. There was talk of his illness last winter. One Hollywood insider, who’s very real and top notch, told me she’d heard he’d been going for experimental treatment a while ago.

So the publicists lied. That’s not new. But what about the Enquirer? Their reports are hit or miss. Only this time, it involved a man’s life.

Do you remember in the spring of 2005 when they said Michael Jackson’s Neverland had been sold? They insisted that within 90 days we would know the name of the purchaser.

It never happened.

Last winter, they fired all kinds of accusations at presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards. Again, nothing came of it.

What could be in it for the Enquirer to “expose” Swayze’s medical secrets — if they are even true? He’s just one of the nicest guys in the world. He’s never had one scandal, and has always been married to the same woman. He’s one of the few big stars in Hollywood who’s remained humble and friendly.

The Enquirer is like a mad man who enters a crowded room with a loaded gun and just starts shooting. Swayze most certainly has been affected by the Enquirer story in many negative ways. If he hadn't been able to tell all his family and friends about his illness, imagine them finding out that way. I wonder if the Enquirer editors would like this to happen to them. Shameful.

For the record, Swayze appears in a tape of an equestrian show on the Internet made a couple of months ago. He looked fine. He’s just wrapped two projects. Neither one of them, despite what you might have read elsewhere, has anything to do with cheerleading (I thought that was funny).

So we’ll put Patrick Swayze in our prayers. He has been the most gracious and understanding of any star of his generation. He had his moments with “Ghost,” “Dirty Dancing” and a few others. I am a particular fan of a film he made a few years ago with Forest Whitaker called “Green Dragon.” It wasn’t a hit.

But Swayze comprehended that his “hot moment” in Hollywood was over. He accepted this like a man, downsizing his acting career and diversifying his life to other loves. Let’s just hope that modern medicine and a bunch of x-factors kick in now. He deserves it. What he didn’t deserve was the National Enquirer’s half truths.
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